The worst of the snowstorm is over, but there are still some winter issues to deal with before we're completed clear.
Blizzard warnings remain in effect in southern Minnesota near the Iowa border, with a winter weather advisory in the Mankato area.
"Still a lot of blowing snow around," says National weather service forecaster Tyler Hazenstein. "It's causing snow to go back over the roads and then if any vehicles drive over them, quickly becoming icy and slippery. So even though we're outside of kind of your main blizzard warning, and any snow falling even in the metro, still some very slippery roadway conditions out there."
The forecast for the storm and the immense snow amounts were pretty much spot-on, although the largest accumulations happened about fifty miles farther south than expected. The Twin Cities mostly saw 8-14 inches, depending on where, but there were spots to the southeast where even more fell.
There are reports of snowfall upwards of two feet in a band that stretched from north of Rochester into central Wisconsin.
"The area that the heaviest tracks through oftentimes ends up being a little bit uncertain," Hazenstein adds. "Given that the amounts were very close to what we predicted and ended up being a fairly easy event just to kind of nail down where those amounts were, it was just a matter of where those ended up falling."
And we're not done yet. Some cold weather has settled in, with WCCO-TV Chief Meteorologist Chris Shaffer saying highs Monday will be in the teens, and overnight lows may sneak below zero.
And on Tuesday, there's more snow.
"Don't panic, it's much lighter," Shaffer says. Arrives late afternoon into the evening, we may see 1 to 3 inches."
That snow is putting the Twin Cities back to average for the white stuff, according to Shaffer."
Put us back above average for the monthly snowfall," he said. "It put us back above average for the yearly snowfall, and it's frustrating. A lot of people with spring showing up on Friday, and it looks like winter."
Good news on the horizon though. By the weekend, temps will become spring-like once more, and that will put a dent in those drifts and snowbanks.
The snow has had an effect on roads statewide. The Minnesota State Patrol reporting that from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday night, they responded to 464 property damage crashes,40 injury crashes, one fatal crash 46 spinouts.
MSP Airport is also a little behind as well. There are around 35 departures canceled Monday morning, primarily Delta flights. There were 300+ flights cancelled on Sunday so airlines could get crews and planes in place to restart flights early this week.
FORECAST
MONDAY: Mostly cloudy and cold.. High: 17. NW 10-20 mph.
MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Low: 0. NW wind 4-8 mph.
TUESDAY: Snow by late afternoon into the night (1-3”). High: 22. S wind 5-10 mph.
Warming to near 50 by Friday and Saturday.
Average high and low….42/25
Storm Pounds Wisconsin and Michigan As Well
The storm that tracked across Minnesota was a massive one. Blizzard conditions persisted Monday in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, where the storm brought as much as 2 feet of snow by morning. It was still snowing in the region. Additional snowfall of a foot to 20 inches of snow can be expected in upper Michigan, along with gusty winds, on Monday, the National Weather Service said.
Schools were closed in a number of communities Monday in both states, including Milwaukee and Marquette, Michigan.
Lower snow accumulations in places such as Chicago and Milwaukee were expected to create trouble for commuters on Monday, Roys said.
Jim Allen, 45, who lives on the Upper Peninsula, said his family stocked up on necessities and he was ready to clear snow several times Sunday with a shovel and snowblower.
“We’re basically prepared to just kind of hunker down for a few days if we need to,” Allen said.
Nearly 1,400 flights were delayed nationwide and another 1,800 were canceled, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight disruptions. O’Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago reported more than 350 cancellations early Monday. At Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, about 200 flights were delayed and another 160 were canceled.
Twin Cities saw between 8-14 inches but over 20 fell in some spots southeast
