The Minnesota winter that won't end is expected to dump up to a foot of snow in the Twin Cities by Thursday night, snarling traffic throughout the day, weighing down tree limbs and wearing out the patience of some of the state's hardiest winter afficionados.
The precipitation has started the day as freezing rain. Buses are replacing trains on the Hiawatha light rail line Thursday morning because of ice on the overhead wires.
The heaviest snowfall was expected to hit the Twin Cities between 8 a.m. and noon Thursday, creating morning commute chaos and treacherous roads, said Joe Calderone, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen.
Another half-inch of snow could continue to fall into Friday, complicating yet another morning commute, Calderone said.
The heavy, wet snow could also create backbreaking work for shovelers, clog snowblowers and possibly break tree limbs and down power lines. But ice would be far more damaging, said Mary Sandok, spokeswoman for Xcel Energy, the dominant electricity provider in the metro area.
That's what many in southwestern Minnesota had to deal with when the first swipe of the storm system left some residents without power, perhaps for two more days.
Freezing rain on Wednesday toppled trees, power poles and lines, leaving at least 4,000 homes and businesses in Nobles, Rock and Murray counties and an additional 29,000 customers in Sioux Falls, S.D., without power on Wednesday afternoon. Gov. Mark Dayton called out the National Guard to help respond to the disruptions.
Hospitals, nursing homes and other vital facilities in the Worthington area relied on backup generators for electricity while utilities doled out electricity in a "rolling blackout," lighting up sections of the county for 45 minutes at a time.