Settling into a world of white, Minnesotans shoveled snow and played in it Saturday after an overnight storm dropped as much as 10 inches in some metro area communities and hefty amounts across much of central and southern parts of the state.
Storm brings snow emergencies now and cold later
Up to 10 inches of snow fell overnight Saturday, making for hazardous travel and picturesque winter outings. Minneapolis and St. Paul declared snow emergencies.
By STAFF REPORTS
The storm hit at the beginning of Friday's rush hour, snarling traffic and causing a jet to slip off a taxiway at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Friday evening. No one was hurt.
By midmorning Saturday, Minneapolis and St. Paul had declared snow emergencies. Other cities with snow emergencies include Robbinsdale, Bloomington, Golden Valley, Richfield, West St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Hastings, St. Louis Park, Mendota Heights, Faribault and Mankato.
The State Patrol responded to reports of 225 crashes statewide, including 26 with injuries and one fatality, between 3 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday, according to Lt. Eric Roeske.
In the metro area, there were 141 crashes with 13 injuries. Another 392 vehicles spun out or skidded off the road, including 172 in the metro area.
Two state troopers suffered noncritical injuries in weather-related accidents, one when his squad car was hit by a vehicle whose driver lost control on Interstate 35W near Forest Lake on Friday and the second on Saturday when the trooper's squad was struck by another car on Interstate 94 in Stearns County.
The one fatal accident reported during the storm was in Mahnomen County. A 23-year-old woman died at 2:40 a.m. Saturday when she lost control of her vehicle on Hwy. 59 south of Mahnomen. She was fishtailing on the icy highway when she was struck broadside by a northbound vehicle.
Roads remained slippery Saturday and spin-outs and fender-benders abounded.
There were only minor delays at the Twin Cities airport Saturday as things "returned to normal," said airport spokeswoman Melissa Scovronski.
Minnesotans might as well settle into winter, because the latest snow is probably here to stay. Colder weather sets in Sunday, with a high of 15 and windchill readings between 5 below and 3 above, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday night's low will be around 3 above.
Monday and Tuesday will be mostly sunny, with highs around 15 and nightly lows of about 2 above.
Staff writers Tim Harlow, Sarah Lemagie and Pamela Miller contributed to this report.
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STAFF REPORTS
The special election Nov. 5 will determine whether the GOP flips control of the state Senate or the DFL stays in charge.