Cold weather prompts school closures, train cancellations in Minnesota

Most schools across Minnesota are off Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Some of the remaining districts have canceled or moved classes online due to the extreme cold.

Temperatures across parts of northern Minnesota dropped into the 30s below zero early Monday. Wind chills were in the 40s below zero. Extreme cold warnings and cold weather advisories remain in effect through midday Tuesday. Find forecast updates on MPR Weather’s Updraft blog.

The arctic blast is also affecting Amtrak service in Minnesota, with no trains running Monday.

School closures, delays

School districts with weather-related closures or delays Monday include:

Closed

• Blue Earth Area

• Dover-Eyota

• Hendricks

• Martin County West

• Melrose Area

• Red Rock Central

E-learning day

• Battle Lake

• Byron

• Canby

• Cedar Mountain

• Lynd

• Marshall

• New London-Spicer

• Norman County East

• Parkers Prairie

• Tracy Area

• Ulen-Hitterdal

• West Central Area

Two-hour delay

• Butterfield-Odin

• Hancock

• Lester Prairie

• Maple Lake

Amtrak trains canceled

The blast of arctic air in the Upper Midwest is also affecting Amtrak service in the region, including trains serving stations in Minnesota.

Empire Builder trains were canceled Saturday and Sunday, and again on Monday.

And Borealis service between Chicago and the Twin Cities is canceled Monday and Tuesday. Find additional information on Amtrak’s website.

Amtrak said the changes are due to the weather forecast, but did not provide further details on why trains need to be canceled amid the cold weather.