Near Two Harbors, 34 structures burned and Highway 61 closed; in Crow Wing County, a 1,600-acre fire sparked evacuations

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 brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to much of Minnesota on Thursday — with 

In the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota, temperatures hovered near 32 degrees during the morning hours. Freezing rain left a coating of ice on decks, branches and windshields — with the sound of ice scrapers echoing through neighborhoods during the morning commute.

But with the ground relatively warm, road conditions were generally good — though there were scattered icy patches, especially on bridges. 

The wintry weather prompted some school districts to change plans for Thursday — delaying or canceling classes, or moving to online learning.

Minnesota utilities responded to a few power outages amid the sleet and snow.

Just after 7 a.m., Xcel Energy reported an outage affecting about 2,200 homes and businesses in the Zumbrota area. Power was restored to those customers by mid-morning.

To the west of the Twin Cities, McLeod Cooperative Power reported outages affecting several dozen customers near Stewart. And to the northwest, Lake Region Electric Cooperative reported a few hundred customers without power near Frazee as of late morning.

The precipitation was forecast to continue through much of Thursday, with several inches of snow possible across much of central and northern Minnesota. 

Another storm is forecast to arrive in the region later Friday into Saturday — with mostly rain expected in southern Minnesota, and a chance for more accumulating snow across central and northern parts of the state.

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 

service updates and advisories on its website

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

Author

A late-season winter storm brought a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain to much of Minnesota on Thursday. That prompted some school districts to change plans for the day.

Kelly Gordon | MPR News 

A coating of snow and sleet along a state highway

School closures, power outages reported amid snow, sleet and freezing rain in Minnesota

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