A drive from Minnetonka to downtown Minneapolis was pretty easy going in light traffic, but the roads were icy and caked with snow.

Advice: Brake early and slowly.

My sideroad was still deep in snow and rutted and I had to rock 'n roll and blast my way through the snowplow detritus out onto the main road.

It was clear sailing from there. Interstate Hwys. 494 northbound from Hwy. 7 and 394 eastbound to downtown were mostly cleared of snow. The pavement was visible, but the roads were streaked with ice and caked with snow in many stretches, and in places where there are three lanes, only two were cleared.

In some places, drifting snow pinched in one of the lanes.

With such light traffic at 6:30 a.m., I felt comfortable going at 50 mph -- and others were going 60 mph.

Downtown Minneapolis -- coming in on Fourth St. -- was in excellent shape, especially compared with most storms. Mounds of snow at many corners were as tall as a person. And outside City Hall snow was piled in two mounds at least 10 feet high.