Minnesota Hit by Heavy Slushy Snow-Rochester Sees About 6 Inches

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The late winter storm that pounded Minnesota on Sunday easily produced the highest snowfall total of the season in the Rochester area.

Most of the reports in the Rochester area have been in the 5-6 inch range. There was one report of 6.5 inches on the north edge of the city and a report of 7.2 inches east of Rochester near Elba.

The majority of the snowfall reports in the Twin Cities are in the 6-8 inch range. 8.2 inches of snow was recorded at the Twin Cities airport, which set a new record for March 24th. It is still snowing in parts of northern Minnesota where forecasters were predicting up to 2 feet of accumulation. So far, the highest snowfall report is from Duluth at 10.5 inches, but forecasters are predicting that another 3-5 inches of snow could fall in that part of the state today.

A winter storm warning remains in effect for the northern third of Minnesota until 7 PM on Tuesday. That area is expecting the precipitation to become mixed with sleet and freezing rain later today. The remainder of the state is expecting mainly rain with warmer temperatures today and tomorrow.

Travel conditions on state highways in southeast and south-central Minnesota, including the Twin Cities are now back to normal, although many secondary roads and city streets remain covered by the heavy slushy snow. Travel remains difficult across most of the rest of the state. The Minnesota Department of Transportation says the majority of highways in the far southwestern corner of the state and throughout central and northern Minnesota remain completely snow covered this morning.

The slippery conditions kept law enforcement officers and other emergency responders busy yesterday the State Patrol says from 12 AM yesterday through 7 AM today troopers responded to 396 crashes. 22 resulted in injuries, including one serious injury and one death. There were also 339 reports of vehicles spinning out or off the road, and 14 jackknifed semi-trucks.

Although the Rochester School district was not on the list, the late winter storm prompted numerous school districts across southeastern Minnesota to delay the start of classes for a couple of hours this morning.

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