winter storm

Roads have reopened in southwestern Minnesota but transportation officials are still advising no travel in south-central and southwestern parts of the state because of blizzard conditions.

Winter weather has arrived with a bang and ahead of schedule with more than a foot of snow on the ground in some parts of Minnesota.

Much of Minnesota is gearing up for its first major winter storm of the season.

A major winter storm is expected to affect a large part of the upper Midwest on Sunday, dropping some of the heaviest snow totals here in Central Minnesota. The timing of the snowfall will be overnight tonight and through much of the day on Sunday.

A storm that has dumped more than a foot of snow in the Rocky Mountains is heading east and is forecast to bring the first major winter storm of the season to the central Plains and Midwest.

The State Patrol says they responded to 94 crashes statewide between 5:00 and 10:00 a.m. this (Wednesday) morning. Eight of those crashes had injuries, though none were serious. There were also 202 vehicles that went into ditch. Plus three jackknifed semis.

Things are slowing getting back to normal at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after a major winter storm dropped more than a foot of snow there by Monday morning. An airport spokeswoman says the airport was down to one working runway early Monday, but expects to open a second soon.

State officials say Interstate 94 remains closed between Alexandria and the North Dakota border due to dangerous driving conditions.