18 Inches Of New Snow In Northwest Minnesota

THIEF RIVER FALLS (AP) - Eighteen inches of fresh snow whipped up by winds of 50 miles per hour might seem like a cruel April Fool's joke, but for residents of northwestern Minnesota it's all too real.

Highway 1 from Warren to the North Dakota border was closed and Marshall County sheriff's officials advised against travel as a semitrailer and two other vehicles were stranded in the middle of the road. Polk County officials pulled snowplows off the roads Monday afternoon as conditions deteriorated for the safety of the drivers.

The National Weather Service reported 18 inches of new snow at Thief River Falls and Warren and 16 inches in Salol in Roseau County.

To the south, a tornado caused damage at three farms southeast of St. Leo in Yellow Medicine County, but no injuries were reported.