Cleanup continues following Minnesota blizzard; Minneapolis, St. Paul declare snow emergencies
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No-travel advisories across southern Minnesota were lifted Monday morning, as driving conditions gradually improved following Sunday’s blizzard conditions.
But travel remained difficult on many highways across the region, and the combination of frigid temperatures and gusty winds caused challenges for crews working to clear snow. Many cities across the region implemented snow emergency parking rules to make it easier to plow streets.
Parts of central and southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, saw more than a half-foot of snow on Sunday and winds gusted to more than 50 mph.
Interstate 35 reopened from Albert Lea south to Ames, Iowa, as of early Monday afternoon, after being closed to traffic for nearly a day. That’s after crews worked all morning to clear snowdrifts and stranded vehicles.
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Gov. Tim Walz on Sunday evening authorized the Minnesota National Guard to help support the emergency response to the storm.
“The state has received a request for National Guard assistance from the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office to provide the personnel, equipment, facilities and resources necessary to respond to the severe weather and rescue stranded motorists,” the governor’s office reported. Freeborn County includes stretches of Interstates 35 and 90 near Albert Lea.
An emergency shelter was set up overnight at the National Guard armory in Albert Lea. Some fire departments and community centers in northern Iowa also opened their doors as shelters for stranded travelers. Snowplows were pulled off highways in parts of the state due to poor visibility on Sunday.
A stretch of U.S. Highway 71 south of Redwood Falls was also closed Monday morning due to drifting snow, but reopened by 9 a.m. A stretch of State Highway 60 between Windom and St. James also was closed for part of the morning.
The State Patrol responded to at least 598 crashes across Minnesota from early Sunday through 11:30 a.m. Monday — 46 resulting in injuries. There were no immediate reports of fatal crashes.
The Patrol also reported at least 638 spinouts or vehicles in the ditch, and 43 jackknifed semis. Those numbers only cover state and federal highways, and don’t include crashes or spinouts on city and county roads.
Snow reports included 9 inches near Mankato, 7.5 inches in Burnsville, 6.5 inches in Otsego, 5.8 inches at the Twin Cities airport and 5 inches in Rochester.
Snow emergencies | Flight cancellations | Forecast and other updates
Metro Transit reported early Monday that about a third of its Twin Cities bus routes were delayed, though the average delay was only 5 minutes.
While the storm caused a lot of headaches for travelers, its timing during the holiday break also means plenty of time for sledding, skiing and other winter fun for kids and families across the region over the next few days.
Snow emergencies
Many Minnesota cities — including Minneapolis and St. Paul — declared snow emergencies, to give public works crews time to clear snow from city streets.
The snow emergency in Minneapolis follows a multi-day schedule, with varying parking rules:
9 p.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday: Do not park on either side of a snow emergency route until 8 a.m., or until the street is fully plowed. Snow emergency routes are marked with signs. The city also has an online map of all snow emergency routes.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday: Do not park on the even-numbered side of a non-snow emergency route until 8 p.m., or until that side of the street is fully plowed. For parkways, do not park on either side until 8 p.m., or until the parkway is fully plowed.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday: Do not park on the odd-numbered side of a non-snow emergency route until 8 p.m., or until that side of the street is fully plowed.
St. Paul announced a snow emergency on Monday morning, to go into effect Monday night:
Beginning at 9 p.m. Monday, there’s no parking allowed on night plow routes, which include all streets in downtown St. Paul as well as streets with signs marked “Night Plow Route” or “Night Plow Route This Side of Street.”
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday in St. Paul, all day plow routes will be plowed, and there’s no parking on those streets until they are cleared curb-to-curb. Day plow routes are not marked by signs. If there are no “Night Plow” signs posted within the block, then consider it a day plow route.
Snow emergencies in St. Paul last for four days.
Other cities declaring snow emergencies or special parking restrictions included Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Byron, Crystal, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Mankato, Montevideo, New Hope, North Mankato, Richfield, Rochester, St. James, St. Louis Park, Wabasha, Waseca and West St. Paul. Check with your city’s website or social media pages for snow emergency status and timing.
Flight cancellations
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, officials were expecting more than 50,000 people to pass through security checkpoints on Sunday — one of the two busiest days of the holiday travel season.
More than 375 flights were delayed or canceled at MSP on Sunday. The airport called in extra workers to clear snow.
On Monday, as of late morning, MSP was reporting more than 160 delayed or canceled flights.
Forecast updates
MPR News: Real-time radar
National Weather Service: Snowfall reports
Travel updates
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 Metro Transit and Metro Transit Alerts social media pages, as well as on its website.
Is there is snow emergency in effect for St. Paul or Minneapolis? Find out on the City of St. Paul website or the City of Minneapolis website.
Flight updates
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:
