First big snowstorm of season slowing commute in Twin Cities, much of Minnesota

The first major snowstorm of the season was marching across central and southern Minnesota on Thursday morning, creating difficult travel conditions, delaying or closing some schools and turning the brown landscape into a winter wonderland.

A winter storm warning remains in effect from the Red River Valley in northwestern Minnesota east to Duluth and south through the Twin Cities into western Wisconsin. By 8:30 a.m., 5 inches of snow had fallen in Montgomery, just south of the metro area. Other totals supplied by National Weather Service observers included 4.9 inches near Northfield, 4.8 inches in Elko/New Market, 4.4 inches in New Prague, 4 inches in Minnetonka and 3.7 inches in both Edina and southeast Minneapolis.

Between 4 and 7 inches could fall along and north of I-94 while 3 to 6 inches could pile up in southern and southwestern Minnesota, where a winter weather advisory is in place, the National Weather Service said.

“Plan for a slick and hazardous Thursday morning commute,” the National Weather Service said. “Allow extra time to get to your destination and remember, take it slow.”

Metro area roads were ice- and snow-covered at 8:45 a.m. even as a full complement of Minnesota Department of Transportation plows were out attempting to clear them off. Snow was falling at about a half inch to an inch an hour, making the job tough.

“We have several more hours of snow, so this will be a long day with long impact,” said MnDOT spokeswoman Anne Meyer. “The longer it snows, the longer it will take to clear off the roads.”

Nearly all of the agency’s 800 plows were out in all corners of the state, Meyer said.

Metro Transit at 8 a.m. said about 60% of its buses were running behind schedule, with an average delay of 14 minutes. No delays were reported on light-rail trains or the Northstar Commuter, the agency said.

At 8 a.m., about 3 inches of snow had fallen at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, leading to some delays as crews plow runways and deice planes. There was a brief ground stop earlier Thursday, but the airport and flights are operating, said spokesman Jeff Lea.

At 8:45 a.m., 23 outbound and 14 inbound flights had been delayed, and four inbound and one outbound flight had been canceled, the airport’s website said.

Brainerd, Fergus Falls, Little Falls and Royalton in greater Minnesota, as well as Stillwater in the metro area, were among districts calling off classes Thursday while scores of others will start classes a couple hours late.

Snow is expected to wind down by late afternoon in most places, but gusty winds will blow around anything that falls impacting travel late into the night, the Weather Service said.