MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A February snowstorm began pushing into Minnesota Thursday, making roads slick and prompting schools to close.
Snow started falling in Minneapolis around midday and continued during the evening rush hour. The metro area could see up to a foot of snow by the time the storm passes Friday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Shawn DeVinny said.
“It’s going to be snowing most of the night and not winding down till early tomorrow morning,” DeVinny said Thursday night.
In Mankato, 5 inches of snow had fallen before 6 p.m. A trained spotter measured 5.5 inches of snow in Waconia, and more than 4 inches of snow had fallen in Monticello.
Schools in southern Minnesota closed Thursday, including Rochester, Winona and Faribault as heavy snow and strong winds moved into the region. Minneapolis Public Schools canceled all after-school and evening activities and meetings because of the weather. Minnesota State, Mankato canceled evening classes.
Alicia Halverson, 23, a graduate student at Minnesota State, was doing research at the school library Thursday evening. She lamented that the library was closing early due to the storm.
“It’s horrible. The library and stuff is closing, resources that you need,” Halverson said. She said she is not an outdoor winter enthusiast.
“I do nothing. I just try to stay in and get stuff done that is inside,” said Halverson, who is from the St. Cloud area. She said the continued cold, snowy weather “makes me want to wear sweatpants every day, stay inside.”
Minneapolis, St. Paul and many surrounding suburbs declared snow emergencies. No travel was advised in southeastern Minnesota because of blowing snow. Western Minnesota also was seeing whiteout conditions, meteorologist DeVinny said.
After a brief outbreak of mild weather, Minnesota will go back into the deep freeze once the storm passes. The weather service forecasts lows of 5 below zero to 5 above Friday night, with weekend highs ranging from 5 to 15 above.
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