Heavy snow for central, northern Minnesota. Wintry mix to the south

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Dozens of Minnesota school districts sent students home early Tuesday, as travel conditions across the region continued to deteriorate through the day.

A strong — and complicated — winter storm remained on track to bring heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain and howling winds to the state Tuesday afternoon and evening, continuing through early Wednesday.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation was already reporting icy roads across the state late Tuesday morning — in part from earlier rounds of light snow, ahead of the larger storm.

A narrow band from Thief River Falls to Brainerd to Hinckley could see a half-foot of snow by Wednesday morning. 

To the south — including the Twin Cities — a chance for rain and freezing rain was making for a challenging forecast. There could be a wide range of snow totals across the Twin Cities, with the best chance for significant snow in the north and east metro.

Find forecast updates from MPR's Updraft weather team

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The storm will also bring very strong winds — and potential ground blizzard conditions in southwest Minnesota on Tuesday night. One uncertainty is whether any snow that falls will be of the consistency where it could be picked up by those winds.

As the system moves out early Wednesday, much colder air will arrive for the rest of the week. Highs statewide on Saturday may struggle to climb above zero.

Schools dismissing classes early on Tuesday, Dec. 9

Check district websites for specific dismissal times. Some other districts are cancelling after-school activities.

Schools that moved to e-learning on Tuesday, Dec. 9

These state transportation departments offer live updates on road conditions and crashes:

For bus and light rail riders in the Twin Cities, Metro Transit offers weather-related updates on its 

Is there is snow emergency in effect for St. Paul or Minneapolis? Find out on the 

If you’re planning to fly from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport or another airport around the region — or if you are expecting visitors to arrive by plane — airports offer flight status updates online:

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Andrew Krueger

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Dozens of Minnesota school districts sent students home early Tuesday, as a strong and complicated winter storm remains on track to bring heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain and howling winds to the state.

Dozens of school districts send students home early as winter storm sweeps into Minnesota

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