After a fleeting warmup late last week, Saturday night's mix of snow and ice prompted Minneapolis and St. Paul to declare a snow emergencies.
In a news release, Minneapolis spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie encouraged residents to move their vehicles so crews can plow more than 1,000 miles of streets "as wide as possible."
If you need a mental image, McKenzie offers this: "That's the equivalent of 3,200 'lane miles' of streets that need to be plowed — enough to plow a lane from Minneapolis to Anchorage, Alaska."
Statewide, the National Weather Service reported thousands of people without power last night and early this morning, especially in Ramsey and Washington counties.
Crews from Xcel Energy were working on restoring power throughout the day, according to the utility's website.
The sloppy conditions led to dozens of accidents across the state. Late Saturday and early Sunday, the State Patrol reported 92 crashes — none fatal but 11 with injuries — another 92 spinouts and three semitrailer truck jackknifes.
Minnesota — especially the northern and eastern regions — has been experiencing abnormally dry conditions so the storm may bring needed moisture to those areas.
Here are the rules for parking in Minneapolis over the next few days, per the city's website:
