Another winter wallop on the way

Snow is expected to return to much of Minnesota again tonight, hard on the heels of a weekend one-two punch of drifting and biting winds. If this trend continues, it could really complicate holiday travel plans.

But skiers, snowboarders and ice-fishermen say, bring it on.

"We're always hoping for a white Christmas, but this is a bonus year," said Joe Yasis, operations manager at Afton Alps near Hastings.

The forecast follows a weekend storm that brought several more inches of snow and deep-freeze temperatures to much of Minnesota, and resulted in hundreds of cars towed in the Twin Cities area.

People, bundled up to keep warm, were still lined up after 10 p.m. Sunday, as they waited to pay their fines and get their cars back in Minneapolis, where the emergency continues until tonight.

Up to 4 inches of snow are expected to fall starting after this evening's rush hour until about noon Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.

Wednesday could see yet another snowstorm develop to the south, potentially grazing eastern and southern Minnesota as it moves through Iowa and Wisconsin. Christmas Day is likely to be quiet, forecaster Rick Hiltbrand said, but another storm may build in the region for the weekend.

Rochester and St. Cloud recorded daily snowfall records Saturday, with 7 inches and 4 1/2 inches, respectively.

Snow emergencies were declared in St. Paul, Minneapolis and many suburbs. In St. Paul, where the snow emergency ended Sunday, 734 vehicles were towed as of 4 p.m., down from the 800 to 900 that typically are impounded, said Bret Smith, supervisor of the impound lot. Figures from Minneapolis, where today brings the third and final day of its snow emergency, were not available Sunday evening.

State troopers still were seeing spinouts, but reported no fatal accidents, said patrol spokesman Lt. Mark Peterson.

Patrick Hogan, spokesman for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, said air travel had returned to normal Sunday; on Saturday, about 500 people had been stranded.

Enjoying the powder

At Upper Red Lake near Kelliher, demand for ice-shack rentals is up about 15 percent this year compared with a year ago, said Chris Freudenberg, of Portavilla Inc., which has 17 ice houses available on the lake. Sunday was cold, he said, but fishing has been good, with one group catching its limit of walleyes in 3 1/2 hours.

Yasis, of Afton Alps, said that winter enthusiasts were reveling in what he described as "out West" snow conditions -- the powdery stuff that he says offers better feel and sound.

A multi-sensory experience?

"It is a multi-sensory experience, yes, it is," he said. "If you want to get into the zen thing."

More than 4,000 people turned out at the ski facility Saturday, Yasis said. Sunday was a bit slower, he added, perhaps because of a combination of shopping and the cold.

"We like it," Yasis said. "Our philosophy is that whenever there's snow in people's back yards, they're thinking of winter activities."