Storm dumped 15 inches of snow on Twin Cities. And a lot of headaches

After days of digging, pushing and plowing out, the Twin Cities emerged Thursday from one of the largest January snowstorms on record.

The official snow accumulation at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reached 15 inches for the multiday affair, which began Tuesday and petered out Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Central Minnesota, including the metro area, got the brunt of the dump; St. Cloud tallied 13.8 inches, while Eau Claire, Wis., measured a mere 2.2 inches.

The onslaught of snow was slightly higher in other areas of the metro area, with 15.4 inches of snow recorded in southwest Hopkins and 16.7 inches in southwest Savage.

Splashes of sunshine — the first in days — bathed a glorious wintry landscape by late morning, but it belied the strata of powder, wet snow, slush and crusty ice that lay beneath.

Minneapolis: Work continues

In Minneapolis on Thursday evening, crews entered the final stage of residential plowing under the city's snow emergency, which challenged many vehicle owners to play musical cars amid drifts that often breached their undercarriages, creating a chorus of spinning tires punctuated by occasional crunches of fenders and plastic parts. Grunts, and perhaps an occasional curse, of neighbors and good Samaritans could be heard as well.

"We totally understand the challenges the residents are facing," said Joe Paumen, director of transportation, maintenance and repair for Minneapolis. "There's a lot of snow out there."

Road conditions were better Thursday, but on Wednesday afternoon many areas with smaller residential streets turned into a maze, with drivers turning from one street to another only to see a stuck car blocking it farther ahead.

Paumen said all arterial streets had been cleared by Thursday afternoon, and progress was being made on residential streets. He estimated the city had cleared "about 95%" of alleys, but said that in alleys where vehicles had become stuck and no tow trucks were at the ready, plowing had to be postponed.

Paumen said efforts by city crews, including the hauling of snow from downtown, clearing of intersections and corners, and mop-up work all over, could take another 10 to 12 days.

The exhaustion from clearing heavy snow also sent some residents to the hospital. Five of the 36 patients reporting chest pain this week at the emergency department for United Hospital in St. Paul, said they developed symptoms after moving snow, according to an Allina Health spokesperson.

Minneapolis residents who are unable to shovel their sidewalks as required by city ordinance can call 311 for assistance to clear them.

Twin Cities tow and ticket over 1,000

While some avoided a fine or towing after getting stuck or leaving their vehicle on a snow emergency route scheduled for plowing, hundreds of others weren't so lucky.

Minneapolis had ticketed 757 vehicles and towed 171 in its first phase of the snow emergency, according to a city spokesperson. During St. Paul's night plow phase, the city ticketed 368 and towed 118, a spokesperson said.

Friday will be the third day of Minneapolis' snow emergency, meaning residents are not allowed to park on the odd-numbered side of streets that aren't designated for snow emergencies.