Heavy snow overnight ended around daybreak Saturday in the Twin Cities area and much of Minnesota, leaving slippery roads and tens of thousands of people without power. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport recorded 8.5 inches of snow.
Xcel Energy reported around 35,000 outages through the metro area and parts of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin as of Saturday afternoon, with crews working to restore power. The Minnesota State Patrol reported 346 crashes statewide from 4:30 p.m. Friday to 11:30 a.m. Saturday (41 with injuries, none serious), 629 spinouts and 18 jackknifed semitrailer trucks.
Widespread reports were circulating of unplowed stretches of interstate freeways throughout the Twin Cities even by late morning, and residential plowing seemed to be moving slowly as the day progressed.
