Ill-timed snow and freezing rain hampered the commute Monday morning and led to a number of crashes and spin outs.

The thing glaze of ice on I-35E in Eagan resulted in several cars sliding off the road between Lone Oak Road and Cliff Road. That problem continues as we wind down the rush, so use caution and keep the speeds down.

The precip arrived first in the west metro where a rollover crash and icy roads sent cars into the ditch on Hwy. 5 in Norwood Young America. From there, as the mixed bag of rain and snow moved east, crashes popped up in Minnetonka.

At least three spin outs were reported around 6 a.m. on I-494 and Hwy. 7. Not long after a crash blocking two lanes tangled traffic on eastbound 94 at Wabasha Street in downtown St. Paul.

Drive times shot up as more and more people hit the roads and more crashes and spin outs occurred. Even walkers felt the pain as several slipped and fell on Nicollet Mall near the WCCO studios on 11th Street.

Northbound I-35 was slower than normal from County Road 2 up to the Burnsville Split. That has recovered at this hour.

Things in the north metro didn't seem to be as bad. No major setbacks for 35E or 35W, but eastbound 94 had some resistance between Rogers and Maple Grove between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. Drive time between Hwy. 101 and the Fish Lake Split at the worst was 27 minutes, but it's down to a reasonable 13 at this hour.