Difficult driving, schools closed as heavy snow falls in parts of southern Minnesota
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Schools were closed and driving was difficult across much of south-central and southeast Minnesota on Wednesday, as a spring storm brought heavy snow and whiteout conditions to the region.
As of midday Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Transportation was reporting snow-covered highways — and numerous crashes, spinouts and jackknifed semis — from Fairmont east to Albert Lea, Owatonna, Preston, Rochester and Wabasha. That included stretches of Interstates 35 and 90.
Rochester, Fairmont and Winona were among the school districts that canceled classes on Wednesday, March 19. Austin, Owatonna, Pine Island and Waseca were among the districts that moved to online learning. Mankato and St. Peter started classes two hours late. Find a complete list below.
Snow developed Wednesday morning along the Interstate 90 corridor and became heavy at times through the morning hours. Blizzard warnings run through Wednesday night for much of south-central and southeast Minnesota.
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The National Weather Service says those areas may see 4 to 8 inches of snow, along with northwest winds gusting to more than 50 miles per hour. That combination could lead to whiteout conditions at times.
Winter storm warnings extend from Winona into western Wisconsin, where snowfall may also exceed a half-foot — but winds may not be as strong.
To the north and south of the blizzard and winter storm warnings, winter weather advisories were in place for Wednesday. That includes Jackson, Mankato, Red Wing and Houston, where several inches of snow are possible.
There will be a sharp cut-off in snow amounts on the northern side of the storm; the Twin Cities may see little if any snow accumulation. Find forecast updates on MPR Weather’s Updraft blog.
While large parts of Minnesota saw few storms and well-below-normal snowfall for much of the winter, March has been a lot more active. Wednesday’s storm will hit exactly two weeks after another weather system brought more than a foot of snow to parts of southern Minnesota.
School delays, closings for Wednesday, March 19
Closed
Chatfield
Fairmont Area
Granada-Huntley-East Chain
Hayfield
Kasson-Mantorville
Lanesboro
LeRoy-Ostrander
Lewiston-Altura
Rochester
Rushford-Peterson
St. Charles
Southland
Winona Area
E-learning day
Alden-Conger
Austin
Blooming Prairie
Cleveland
Dover-Eyota
Ellsworth, Wis.
Fillmore Central
Glenville-Emmons
Grand Meadow
Jackson County Central
Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton
Kingsland
Lake City
Lyle
Martin County West
Medford
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva
Nicollet
Owatonna
Pine Island
Plainview-Elgin-Millville
Riverland Community College — Albert Lea, Austin and Owatonna campuses
St. Clair
Stewartville
Triton
United South Central
Wabasha-Kellogg
Waseca
Zumbrota-Mazeppa
Two-hour delay
Mankato Area
St. Peter
This list will be updated as additional closings and delays are reported.
Forecast updates
MPR News: Live weather blog and real-time radar
National Weather Service: Snowfall reports
Travel conditions
These state transportation departments offer live updates on road conditions and crashes:
For bus and light rail riders in the Twin Cities, Metro Transit offers weather-related updates on its Metro Transit and Metro Transit Alerts Twitter pages and on its website.
Flight updates
If you’re planning to fly from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport or another airport around the region — or if you are expecting visitors to arrive by plane — airports offer flight status updates online: