Minnesota digs out after heavy snow, with another storm likely next week

Heavy snow in a single day ended round dawn Saturday within the Twin Cities space and far of Minnesota, leaving slippery roads and round tens of 1000’s of individuals with out energy. Minneapolis-St. Paul Worldwide Airport recorded 8.5 inches of snow.

Xcel Vitality reported round 50,000 outages via the metro space and components of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin as of late Saturday morning, with crews working to revive energy. The Minnesota State Patrol reported 275 crashes statewide from 4:30 p.m. Friday to 7:30 a.m. Saturday (28 with accidents, none severe), 532 spinouts and 15 jackknifed semitrailer vehicles.

Metro Transit mentioned nearly half of buses had been delayed late Saturday morning, with Inexperienced and Blue Line mild rail trains “experiencing minor delays.” Minneapolis-St. Paul Worldwide Airport was experiencing delays, primarily in departing flights.

The robust winds from the highly effective storm are anticipated to decrease via late this morning, bringing an finish to winter storm situations, the Nationwide Climate Service mentioned. Preliminary totals confirmed 12 inches in Monticello and Medina, 10 inches in Oakdale, 9.5 inches in Brooklyn Park, 7 inches in Chanhassen, and 0.3 inches in Eau Claire, Wis.

Sunday will carry a excessive of 46 within the Twin Cities metro space, the Climate Service mentioned, with a slight likelihood of precipitation within the afternoon. However one other massive storm system is prone to have an effect on the Higher Midwest on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Climate Service mentioned, bringing blended precipitation, together with the potential for accumulating snow in western and central Minnesota.

A blizzard warning went into impact Friday afternoon for the Twin Cities space and western Minnesota, and thunderstorms that would produce hail and tornadoes had been attainable within the southeastern nook of the state earlier than snow arrived Friday evening, the Climate Service mentioned.

The wide selection of climate got here as a fancy storm system moved out of the Rocky Mountains into the Central Plains.

The snow has pushed the Twin Cities up the record of the snowiest winters of all time. As of Friday morning, the metro had picked up 81.2 inches of snow for the season, the eighth highest whole since information have been stored. The metro wanted solely 5 inches of snow to maneuver into the No. 5 slot, the Minnesota Climatology Workplace mentioned.