St. Paul, Minneapolis declare snow emergency as weather snarls traffic, cancels flights, moves classes online

Molly Guthrey, Nick Woltman, Pioneer Press
·5 min read
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A slow-moving winter storm settled over the Twin Cities on Tuesday and Wednesday, closing schools, snarling traffic and canceling flights.

The Minnesota State Patrol warned drivers at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday to stay home, saying in a tweet that spinouts and crashes “litter Twin Cities roads.”

“Highways across the state are covered in snow,” the State Patrol said. “Stay home if you can. The fewer cars on the road the better for first responders.”

Conditions began improving Wednesday morning, allowing crews to make progress on the state’s highways, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

“The snowfall rate is not as bad as overnight,” said Anne Meyer, a Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesperson, “allowing our crews to keep ahead of what’s falling. Temperatures are also working in our favor.”

Flights have also been affected by this weather event. At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration reported departures of planes at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were delayed more than two hours due to the weather.

The continuing storm is also giving many students across the metro a snow day on Wednesday — including Anoka-Hennepin and West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan. St. Paul Public Schools are opting for an e-learning day (with varsity practices and games held or canceled on a case-by-case basis). Minneapolis Public Schools have also opted for e-learning.

St. Paul declared a snow emergency Wednesday, beginning with night plow routes at 9 p.m. Days plow routes will be plowed beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday.

While it waited until Wednesday to declare a snow emergency, St. Paul’s Public Works Department called in extra staff to plow arterial streets on Tuesday.

Minneapolis also declared a snow emergency Wednesday. West St. Paul declared a snow emergency Tuesday.

The Twin Cities can expect 3 or 4 inches of snow Wednesday, the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service reported Wednesday morning.

That’s in addition to the several inches that fell in the metro Tuesday. The end of the day, MSP airport – the official weather observation point for the Twin Cities — had recorded 6 inches of snow. By 6 a.m. Wednesday, the two-day snow total at the airport had reached 10 inches.

By Wednesday morning, weather observers were reporting around a foot of snow over the two days in Burnsville.

The storm system began Tuesday with freezing rain in southern Minnesota and heavy snow to the metro — and that’s not all.

“We’ve received multiple reports of thunder south of the metro,” said Joe Calderone, a meteorologist with the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service, on Tuesday morning.

Thunder was reportedly heard in or near Lakeville, Waseca and Cannon Falls, Calderone said.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for the metro until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The weather didn’t stop the convening of the 2023 Minnesota Legislature: The Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul was buzzing with people during the start of the session on Tuesday, with several rallies in the rotunda and around the complex.

Still, the Minnesota State Patrol was advising drivers Tuesday afternoon to “slow down, wear your seat belt, put all distractions away and increase your following distance.”

Road conditions deteriorated on metro highways by midafternoon. As of 9:30 p.m., the State Patrol reported 337 crashes statewide, including 25 with injuries, although none was serious or fatal. Troopers also responded to 750 vehicles that had spun out or left the roadway, along with 10 jackknifed semis.

“Troopers are responding to a lot of vehicles off the road,” the State Patrol said in a tweet just after 3 p.m. “Roads are very slippery. Please slow down!”

Check your route at 511mn.org — including views from snowplow cameras. A quick glance on Wednesday morning showed many snow-covered roads, including Interstates 694 and 35E in the Twin Cities.

The plows have much work to do on Wednesday, with snow falling on top of the overnight freezing drizzle.

There was a smattering of school closures and delays across Minnesota and the metro on Tuesday. Hamline University in St. Paul announced that classes after 4 p.m. would be moved online due to weather conditions. Check the university’s website for more information and updates.

At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, 288 flights had been canceled and another 250 delayed as about of 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to FlightAware.

Earlier in the evening, the nose gear of a Delta Air Lines Airbus 320 slid off the taxiway at MSP, and passengers had to be evacuated with the help of airport personnel. No injuries were reported on the jet, which had arrived from San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.

Runways were later closed temporarily due to freezing drizzle.

The weather service expected more sustained light snow to to continue through most of the day on Wednesday in the Twin Cities and into western Wisconsin.

For winter fun, kids enjoying a snow day should stick to their own neighborhoods — the Minnesota Children’s Museum announced it will be closed on Wednesday due to the weather.

“For families stuck at home who are looking for fun activity ideas,” a museum spokesperson wrote in an email, “visit the museum’s new Playful Parenting website, where you’ll find play prompts and other information on sparking hands-on learning at home.”

Due to the inclement weather, the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul is also closed on Wednesday to both visitors and staff, the Minnesota Historical Society announced.

The snowfall should wrap up late Wednesday, and the rest of the week is expected to be largely precipitation-free. High temperatures are expected to dip into the low 20s and remain there through the weekend.

Mara H. Gottfried and Christopher Magan contributed to this report.

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