Snow causes big rigs to stall on I-35 in Minnesota; travel discouraged
Minnesota authorities turned back vehicles on snowy I-35.
The Associated Press
4/11/2008
DULUTH, Minn. — Just when Minnesotans thought spring was here, winter showed it was still in charge by dumping more than a foot of snow in some parts of the state, sending vehicles skidding into ditches and closing schools in the north.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation advised people near Duluth to stay home on Friday because road conditions were so bad. Several offices were closed and the Duluth Transit Authority suspended service for the day. City officials opened the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center as an emergency shelter.
High winds gusting up to 60 mph whipped across Lake Superior, causing waves to rise so high they hit the bottom of the Aerial Lift Bridge.
"It's really bad out there," John Bray, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation in Duluth, said Friday. "I came across the lift bridge and it was like a frozen hurricane out there, and the apocalypse hasn't even hit us yet.
"My advice is that people should just put wood on the fire, pet the dog and look out the window, but stay home."
The blizzard led the Postal Service to cancel mail delivery in the city, spokesman Pete Nowacki said, as the main post office in West Duluth lost power and transportation was difficult.
"It seems that whenever Mother Nature unleashes her wrath, it's always a notch higher in Duluth than anywhere else," Nowacki said.
Several stalled semi-trailers blocked northbound Interstate 35 in the Duluth area, and the Minnesota State Patrol was turning back cars at Minnesota Highway 61.
As of Friday morning, nearly 7 inches of snow had fallen in Duluth, and more was on the way. Aitkin and Little Falls had 12 inches on the ground. Eight inches or more were reported in Tamarack, Chisholm and Brainerd, the National Weather Service said. Up to 8 inches fell overnight in Bemidji.
Some 150 communities closed schools or delayed classes Friday.
"It's not going to get any better today. Maybe a little better tonight. But conditions for driving probably won't improve much until Saturday morning," said Roman Berdes, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Duluth.
High winds and heavy snow also caused power outages. About 7,500 Minnesota Power customers in the Duluth area were without power Friday morning, company spokesman Paul Brissett said. The power problems affected some local television broadcasts.
About 1,800 people were without power in the Crosslake, Emily and Pine River areas near Brainerd, said Char Kinzer, Crow Wing Power public relations manager. Officials were working on the problem, but residents were advised to prepare for outages by storing bottled water and other provisions.
The National Weather Service reported zero visibility and winds up to 55 miles per hour in northern Minnesota, with a blizzard warning in effect until Saturday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol advised no travel in Hubbard, Crow Wing, Aitkin, Mille Lacs, Kanabec, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties. In the Redwood Falls area alone, the State Patrol responded to reports of hundreds of vehicles off the road.