More snow woes for metro drivers; 4 killed on icy Minnesota roads

Day Two of winter's jump start Tuesday morning began a lot like Day One, with driving in the Twin Cities area particularly challenging and more disruption for schools.

Since Monday, when the wintry moisture began in earnest, four people have died on icy roads in Minnesota, including two who were killed in a crash in Rice County before dawn Tuesday.

The Veteran's Day holiday may have kept some motorists off the roads Tuesday in the metro, but those who ventured out found the roads slick and traffic slow.

A number of spinouts and crashes conspired to tangle traffic during the first part of the rush. Ramps and bridge decks seemed to be the most difficult. Among the incidents, a rollover crash on the ramp from westbound Interstate 494 to northbound Hwy. 169 in Edina and a wreck on the westbound lanes of Hwy. 610 on the Mississippi River overpass in Coon Rapids.

Law enforcement were kept busy with fender benders and stalls that jammed traffic on Hwy. 36, through Roseville while heavy traffic jammed Cedar Avenue heading out of Apple Valley into Bloomington.

The icy driving surfaces created by a drop in temperature after road crews' chemicals melted Monday's snow and ice led to a drop in speeds on most mainline routes. That in turn had travel times on the rise, especially on northbound I-35W from Burnsville to Minneapolis and on southbound I-35W from Blaine to downtown Minneapolis.

Metro Transit said 39 percent of its buses were running behind as of 9 a.m., with delays averaging about 7 minutes. Northstar rail from the northwest suburbs and the light rail trains were running on schedule.

Travel in and out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was much smoother Tuesday, with fewer than two dozen departures and arrivals canceled so far. That compares with about 150 by midmorning Monday.

School buses in many communities were kept idled later than usual across much of the state. Braham called off classes altogether, but two-hour delays were sprinkled all around, from Willmar to Princeton to Hinckley to Wabash-Kellogg.

One day after anywhere from 16 inches to a half-foot of snow fell across much of central Minnesota and slashing into the north metro, snow resumed Tuesday in more parts of the state. East-central Minnesota should see up to 2 more inches on top of Monday's total, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour will complicated matters, then temperatures in the metro will remain well below normal for the rest of the week, the NWS added. Look for highs in the 20s and lows in the single digits. Early next week could see the Twin Cities struggle to even get to 20.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482