Power outages concentrated in the southeast metro Tuesday morning are being blamed on Monday night's snowfall that is weighing heavily on trees and utility lines, Xcel Energy said.
About 1,500 customers are without power in Afton, Newport, Cottage Grove and Hastings, said utility spokeswoman Mary Sandok. Xcel hopes to have the electricity restored by late Tuesday afternoon.
There were also another 2,900 customers lacking power because of a broken pole, Sandok added, however she could not say yet wether snow was the culprit there. Those customers came back online shortly before 9 a.m.
Sandok said citizens should stay clear of power lines and call Excel to report lines down or any power failures at 1-800-895-1999. Xcel cautioned that all downed power lines, even if not moving or sparking, are dangerous and should never be approached.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said the deepest snow totals from Monday in the Twin Cities area included: 6 inches in New Prague, 5.8 in Prior Lake, 4.7 in Chanhassen, 4.1 in Lakeville, 3.5 in Minneapolis and 3.4 in Hastings.
Another day-plus of wintry conditions are in the NWS forecast. Tuesday's high probably won't crack 40. The overnight low Tuesday into Wednesday is forecast for the lower 20s, with a rain and snow mix still to endure.
Then comes a steady warm-up and highs in the 60s by the weekend.
Ah, normal.
