Wintry cocktail ushers in 2009

By STAFF REPORTS

Last update: December 30, 2008 - 10:47 PM

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Many commuters felt that way during Tuesday night's rush hour, as traffic crept along in a pretty snowfall amid low visibility and some ugly spinouts. And in central Minnesota, people were digging out from almost a foot of fresh snow.

Enough already! you may say. But there's more on the way.

Today -- New Year's Eve -- will bring a respite from snow, but not from cold. As usual after a snowfall, we'll have a cold one today, with a high near 13 and windchill values between -7 and -17, according to the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. The sun will be out.

Then, after midnight and the arrival of 2009, a 20 percent chance of snow will set in, with a low around 9. And on New Year's Day, snow is likely, mostly before noon, tapering off to flurries by midnight. The high will be near 27.

More snow is possible this weekend, too, according to the Weather Service.

ACCIDENT REPORT: On Tuesday night, the pre-holiday traffic was lighter than usual, but there were a lot of crashes as some motorists tried to get home faster than conditions allowed, said Lt. Mark Peterson of the Minnesota State Patrol.

The patrol reported 20 personal-injury accidents by 6 p.m. and another 131 property-damage crashes in the nine-county metro area. No fatalities were reported.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation called plow drivers in early Monday night, and about 200 plows were out Tuesday, said MnDOT spokesman Kent Bernard, who witnessed spinouts and rollovers as he rode in a plow. "People have to slow down," he said.

MORE SNOW NORTH: The Twin Cities picked up 1 to 2 inches of snow by Tuesday afternoon, with almost 2 inches in downtown Minneapolis, but the storm dropped a foot or more across central Minnesota.

The most snow -- 12 to 15 inches -- fell from Little Falls to Milaca to Rush City and into the Turtle Lake, Wis., area, according to the National Weather Service.

Staff writers Jim Adams and Tim Harlow contributed to this report.

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