Ice, ice, baby: Slick roads make for messy commute

Updated: 5:10 p.m. | Posted: 9:48 a.m.

The winter storm continues to pose problems on the road as snow covers slick roads across Minnesota.

Roads are completely covered in the northern and central parts of the state, the Minnesota Department of Transportation reports.

The Minnesota State Patrol this afternoon tallied 32 crashes in the St. Cloud area, with six non-serious injuries, and 13 crashes in west central Minnesota, with one non-serious injury.

One incident involved two trucks in Stearns County. The crash, on wet pavement at Highway 23 and County Road 47, injured one of the drivers. Bruce Dewenter, 48, of St. Joseph, is expected to survive.

The Patrol reported 135 crashes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Twin Cities metro area, with 11 minor injuries and 40 vehicles spun out or off the road.

Minneapolis public schools cautioned that weather and road conditions may cause some buses to run late this afternoon.

A winter weather advisory is in effect this evening as mainly snow covers northern Minnesota, while a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain continues to fall in the metro.

The wintry mix will come to an end for most in Minnesota tonight with a few inches of additional snow possible near and north of Interstate 94, the Twin Cities National Weather Service said late Tuesday afternoon. The weather's expected to turn much colder for the rest of the week.

The fast-moving winter weather system left a trail of snow and ice across southern and central Minnesota through Tuesday afternoon. Slick roads were expected to complicate today's commutes.

MnDOT reported difficult driving conditions and completely snow-covered roads throughout western and central Minnesota by mid-morning. The weather slowed traffic in the west metro during the morning commute and led to a number of spinouts and crashes.

Among the vehicle crashes reported was a jackknifed semitrailer that temporarily closed Interstate 90 westbound just east of Alden, Minn., at about 9:30 a.m. A train and truck collision also temporarily closed Highway 263 in Welcome, Minn., at about 8:30 a.m. Both opened later in the morning.

Here's the late afternoon update from the Twin Cities National Weather Service: