Winter storm wallops metro, southern Minnesota with rain, wind and largest snowfall of the season

Residents in the metro area and much of southern Minnesota put their snowblowers and shovels to work Wednesday as they dug out from the season’s largest storm that dropped up to a foot of snow in places and took down power lines, closed schools and crippled the morning commute.

The storm dropped 13 inches of snow in Dennison, about an hour southeast of the Twin Cities, with 11 inches or more reported in Northfield, Elko New Market, Apple Valley, Stillwater and Owatonna, the National Weather Service said.

The official yardstick for the metro area at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport measured 9.5 inches as of 1 p.m., the Weather Service said. That was the most of the season in the Twin Cities, which previously had been 5.5 inches on Dec. 19. It was the biggest snowfall since 13.4 inches fell Feb. 21-23, 2023 the Minnesota Climatology Office said.

In a rarity, Metro Transit suspended bus service for the first time since 2023 and suburban agencies followed suit, but many routes were rolling again by 10 a.m.

MnDOT dispatched hundreds of plows to clear roads choked with wet, heavy snow and battled dangerous conditions exacerbated by high winds. Interstate 90 between Worthington and Blue Earth reopened Wednesday afternoon as did several highways in southwestern Minnesota.

But travel on them was not advised due to the icy conditions and reduced visibility, MnDOT said

“It will be a long day,” Anne Meyer, a MnDOT spokeswoman, said about the cleanup. “It was quite a storm.”

Some in the Twin Cities were glad to see the snow.

“I love this,” said Nam Bang-O, as he plowed out of his driveway in Burnsville on Wednesday morning. “I even went for a walk in this last night,” he said.

But for anybody trying to get around, the freshly fallen snow was anything but lovely. Even plows encountered difficulty. Snowdrifts with reduced visibility and whiteout conditions caused by 45-mph winds led to three plows landing in the ditch in southern Minnesota, including on I-90 near Fairmont, Hwy. 15 near Madelia and on Hwy. 14 near New Ulm, said MnDOT spokeswoman Doris Degenstein.

Motorists didn’t fare much better. From 5 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the State Patrol responded to 158 crashes, including nine with injuries, 236 vehicles that went off the road and required a tow and 21 jack-knifed semis across the state.

In St. Paul, a trooper’s squad car was struck Tuesday night on westbound I-94 at White Bear Avenue, said Lt. Mike Lee. The trooper, who was not hurt, was on the scene of a crash when the crash happened about 9:35 p.m., Lee said. The driver who hit the trooper was treated at a hospital for minor injuries, he added.

Five other State Patrol squads have been hit in the past two days, the patrol said.

Several hundred Metro Transit buses had begun their morning trips Wednesday, but the agency soon called them back to their garages with roads impassable in some places.

“Buses were running into trouble right away,” said spokesman Drew Kerr. “This was an extremely rare occurrence.”

Service was resumed by midmorning. The same was true for SouthWest Transit, Maple Grove Transit and the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, which had also halted buses.

Snow tapered off by early afternoon across the area and blizzard warnings across southern Minnesota and winter storm warnings for the metro were downgraded to winter weather advisories. Blizzard warnings remained in place for Murray and Nobles counties, the Weather Service said.

“Though snowfall will end, travel will continue to be difficult through much of the day,” the Weather Service warned.

Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency Wednesday and authorized the Minnesota National Guard to provide support for emergency storm operations.

Metro roads at mid morning remained partially snow covered and littered with crashes and spin outs.

“Every incident slows things down,” Meyer said, reiterating the need to drive slowly and leave plenty of room between vehicles.

Plows worked through the night and day to keep runways open at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. By noon., 233 flights in or out of the Twin Cities had been delayed and 34 cancelled, according to flightaware.com.

Treacherous conditions led St. Paul Public Schools to call an e-learning day. In Minneapolis, students in kindergarten through fifth grade get the day off for a “severe weather day.” Students in grades six through 12 will have an e-learning day, the district said.

Centennial, Bloomington, Lakeville, Wayzata, Osseo and Mounds View are among suburban districts switching to a flexible or at-home learning day, while others such as Robbinsdale and Anoka-Hennepin closed for the day.

Minneapolis and St. Paul declared snow emergencies putting into place parking rules that go into effect at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Several other cities including Robbinsdale, Richfield, Osseo, Plymouth, Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie, Crystal, Golden Valley and West St. Paul also called snow emergencies.

Officials in several cities reminded motorists to move their vehicles off the street.

“This not only ensures more effective plowing, but also helps you avoid a citation,” the city of Woodbury said.

About 7,500 Xcel Energy customers lost power at some point during the storm as heavy snow, icing and strong winds took down power lines. Most who lost electricity were in the metro area. About 500 workers were dispatched to get power restored by Wednesday afternoon, said spokesman Kevin Coss.

In a bit of irony, even with the all the snow, Welch Village ski area was closed on Wednesday due to a power outage. In Columbia Heights, a liquor store was closed for several hours due to no power, but reopened early Wednesday afternoon, the city said.

Hefty snow amounts were most common in the east, south and southeast metro. As of 11:30 a.m., they included:

For spring lovers, the ground will likely be bare again by early next week. Temperatures in the 30s through Friday will warm into the 40s over the weekend and into the mid 50s early next week, the Weather Service said.