It looked more like winter in the Twin Cities on Wednesday night and Thursday morning than it did in all of December and January, as the metro area saw the season’s largest snowfall overnight. With temperatures expected to remain below freezing heading into the weekend, it appears winter has finally arrived.
Yet public works officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul decided Thursday against declaring snow emergencies. That’s because conditions are ripe for the snow that’s already on the ground to melt before it becomes too troublesome for drivers, officials in both cities said. And even though Thursday’s forecast high is well below freezing, clear skies mean the sun’s heating the pavement to about 45 degrees.
“Because of pavement temperatures and car traffic, all of the streets are either clear or on their way to getting clear,” St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw said.
The lack of snow this season has also given public works crews in Minneapolis and St. Paul an opportunity to test new street clearing strategies in response to residents’ evolving commuting routines and as climate change affects winter weather patterns in the Twin Cities.
The 6 to 7 inches that fell overnight in the Twin Cities ended the longest January thaw in recent history and made for a slower-than-usual commute as drivers navigated slush-covered roads. The State Patrol responded to several hundred spinouts and crashes from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday. Still, many metro-area residents were elated on social media as the snowfall marked the first real sign of winter after months of balmy temperatures and dismal accumulation.
Here are five things to know about how city leaders decide whether to declare snow emergencies — and how this winter is different from others.
Do Minneapolis and St. Paul residents have to move their cars?
Nope! Parking restrictions only take effect when officials declare a snow emergency. When they do, it kickstarts a sequence of events that keeps plows off residential streets for hours. Both cities require residents to move their vehicles by 9 p.m., which means that’s the earliest that public works departments and their contractors can begin clearing those roads.
“The bottom line is that by not calling a snow emergency, we’re getting into the residential streets a day earlier,” Kershaw said.