A snowstorm brought nearly 5 inches of snow to parts of the metro area and more to western and northern parts of the state, leaving emergency personnel to respond to hundreds of crashes on Friday.
Between 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., the State Patrol responded to 377 crashes across Minnesota and 214 vehicles that spun out or went off the road. No deaths were reported with any of the incidents, but 33 people suffered injuries, said Sgt. Troy Christianson of the State Patrol.
At 12:30 p.m., a multicar crash was blocking lanes in both directions of Interstate 94 at Weaver Lake Road in Maple Grove. Traffic was crawling on eastbound Interstate 494 near Hwy. 100 in Bloomington where a motorist landed in the ditch. A semitrailer truck jackknifed and landed in the center median on Interstate 35 near Dundas, Minn., just south of the Northfield exit, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.
Scores of school districts called off classes Friday or moved instruction online.
The southwest suburbs received the most snowfall in the metro area with the National Weather Service measuring 4.6 inches of snow in Chanhassen. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport measured 3.7 inches, according to the Weather Service.
In western Minnesota, Willmar received about 7.2 inches and 9-10 inches of snow was reported in towns farther west.
North of Duluth, the Two Harbors area measured 6.5 inches of snow. St. Peter, near Mankato, measured 7.5 inches.
Saturday will be sunny with a high in the teens and temperatures will rebound to near 30 degrees by Sunday.
Another shot of light snow arrives Sunday before a mostly sunny Monday through Wednesday. After a 32-degree high on Tuesday, temperatures will nosedive to below zero that night, the Weather Service said.