First the snow, then comes the arctic cold

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First the snow, then comes the arctic cold

Article by: JIM ADAMS , Star Tribune
Updated: December 5, 2011 - 8:10 AM

Snowplows and snowblowers got their first good workout of the season.

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Swift on the heels of a mostly mild-mannered weekend snowstorm, a cold front is moving into Minnesota this week that will have residents digging out and burrowing into their warmest clothes.

By early Tuesday, lows will dip to zero in areas outlying the Twin Cities suburbs, with conditions slightly warmer in the inner metro, according to meteorologist Jim Richardson of the National Weather Service. A brisk wind will sometimes make it feel like it's below zero.

Farther north, on the Iron Range and elsewhere in northeastern Minnesota, lows early Tuesday will dive to 15 below.

"We probably won't see any warmup until Sunday," said Chris Franks, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "We're going to stay in this cold pattern."

Temperatures will ease downward, with Monday's high in the Twin Cities in the low 20s, sharpened by wind gusts of 10 to 15 miles per hour. Snow flurries are possible Monday, but after that, no further snow is expected through next weekend.

Statewide, highs will be in the 20s through Thursday and in the teens Friday.

This past weekend's snow, which fell Saturday afternoon and overnight across southeastern Minnesota, left about 4 inches on the ground in most of Minneapolis and St. Paul, neither of which triggered snow emergencies. Maple Grove and Mankato got about 5 inches; Rochester collected 3.

"It was a good snow," Franks said.

From 4 p.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday, when the bulk of the snow fell, there were 189 crashes on Minnesota roads, most of them in the Twin Cities area and most of them minor, according to the State Patrol.

103 accidents in metro area

Of the 189 accidents, 103 were in the metro area and 22 of those involved injuries, said Lt. Eric Roeske, but none were believed to be severe.

All in all, Saturday's snowfall was a pretty standard winter storm.

Minnesota Department of Transportation plows worked throughout the night, clearing and salting the roads.

There were still some slippery spots Sunday night, especially on secondary roads and neighborhood streets.

Interstates and highways were mostly clear.

Three people die on roads

There were three fatalities statewide in that timeframe, although it does not appear they were weather-related.

• The first came shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday in Pine County, when a vehicle struck Michael Giguere, 63, of Pine City, as he tried to cross Hwy. 48.

• About 7 a.m. Sunday, a 55-year-old Hibbing man and a 9-month-old boy were killed in a one-vehicle rollover on Hwy. 7 in St. Louis County. A 28-year-old woman was airlifted to a Duluth hospital with noncritical injuries. The victims' names were not immediately released.

Staff writer Heron Marquez Estrada and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Jim Adams • 952-746-3283

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