Strong Minnesota Winds Spell Trouble For Travelers
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The wind affected everything from driving to flying on Monday.
Some parts of southwestern Minnesota reported wind gusts of up to 66 miles an hour.
It caused low visibility on roadways across the state.
And at MSP, the wind forced the airport to close two runways.
Hundreds of flights were also delayed.
(To check flight statuses at MSP, click here.)
"More snow, less wind," said cross-country skier Tim Holmstrom.
That was the rally cry for cross-country skiers at Theo Wirth Park in Golden Valley.
"If I had to pick between below zero or a big wind, I would just pick below zero. You can barely move and it's hard to breathe in it even," said James Dundon, an assistant ski coach at Minneapolis Southwest High School.
Wind gusts of up to 50 miles an hour will do that to a skier, giving the Southwest ski team a unique workout.
"Today it's been weird. It's just hard, it's like pushing you backwards. You're going down a hill and you're going really slow," said senior Joey Doyle.
The wind wasn't just hard on people, it was hard on stoplights too. It bent a Minneapolis stoplight in half.
Sgt. Jesse Grabow of the State Patrol captured images of what the winds were doing to the roadways in northern Minnesota, changing them from clear conditions to whiteout conditions over a 40 mile stretch.
It was so strong in some parts of the state that WCCO meteorologist Kylie Bearse says it had a hurricane feel.
"It's not quite at hurricane strength speed, but it's not far behind it. So hurricane speed starts at 74 miles per hour. We've had a wind gust today of 66 miles per hour," said Bearse.
More than enough to delay hundreds of flights at MSP. Pilots struggled to land planes, as only one runway was operational for much of the day.
"It felt like we were rocking and we had to hold our drinks, too, off of the tray because they were splashing," said Jasmine Cato of Atlanta.
Sledding wasn't much easier. Although 8-year-old Lauren Leuthard and her mom believe the wind helped in at least one way.
"It made it way faster," said Lauren.