MINNEAPOLIS – Heavy, wet snow fell through the overnight Thursday, leading the WCCO Weather Team to issue both a NEXT Weather Alert and a NEXT Drive Alert -- but both have now been dropped.
The National Weather Service also dropped the Winter Storm Warning and the Winter Weather Advisory in Minnesota Thursday afternoon.
The storm is moving out quickly to the east, and temperatures will fall back to the low 20s Thursday night.
The system dropped between 3-6 inches of snow across the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota, with Minneapolis and St. Paul on the lower end of that range. The southeastern corner of the state saw the most accumulation. A WCCO Weather Watcher in Rochester reported 8.5 inches in their area.
Friday will be mostly cloudy and cooler. Highs remain above average, but will be cooler than the past several days.
Expect a quiet weekend with highs in the upper 20s -- comfortable enough to get out and enjoy the fresh blanket of snow.
With the latest round of snow, there's also a host of school closings and delays. Click here to see the full list. And click here to see if there's a snow emergency declared in your community.
Scroll down to see the latest updates from this latest winter storm.
Many St. Paul residents sympathetic to city's snow woes
The snow stopped early Thursday evening, but the snow emergency for one of the Twin Cities just started Thursday night.
They're each doing things a little differently with this storm. In Minneapolis, they decided against a snow emergency.
Over in St Paul, a snow emergency went into effect at 9 p.m.
For Capitol City residents, it's become a common cycle: snow, shovel, repeat.
"When it snows, it pours. Like, I don't know, it's kinda crazy," said resident Dan Weber. "I feel like everybody's trying to do their best with what is a very, very white January."
That includes snow plow drivers.
"I think you know, especially when it comes to weather, there's a lot that's out of our control, and I do think they're doing the best they can," said resident Kari Leon-Irani.
WCCO talked to Sean Kershaw, the director of the St. Paul Department of Public Works, who says the Twin Cities have different equipment, different staffing and different streets they need to take care of.
"This is just an unusual year. We've had the third most snow ever at this point in the winter this year," Kershaw said.
He hopes to add half a dozen new trucks and drivers to his fleet as soon as possible, but he isn't sure if that would help in clearing neighborhoods.
"New equipment will always help with that, and filling some vacant positions, you know, that we have for drivers will help," he said. "But I don't know that there's much we would have done differently given the volume of snow."
Kershaw says any more snow could bring even more drastic measures.
"If we keep getting snows like this, we'll have to do two things. We may have to go to a residential parking ban, one-sided, and we're going to have to go into the streets and remove the snow, you know, when needed, especially those streets that are most narrow," Kershaw said.
He says things will get better in time – time at least some residents are willing to give crews.
"You can complain if you want to, but like [laughs], do you have a better solution than slowly plowing it all?" Weber said. "At some point it's the best that we can do, and you can make it worse or you can try to make it better."
Kershaw says public works will be moving to a computerized route system this year. Right now, they're using clipboards and paper routes from the 90s.
The new system could give them maps with live updates depending on how bad the snow gets.
Southern Minnesota hit hardest by snow
Minneapolis to pass on snow emergency this time around
The City of Minneapolis says it will forgo a snow emergency declaration after Thursday morning's storm.
St. Paul declares snow emergency
St. Paul has joined the list of cities that have declared snow emergencies on Thursday.
Starting at 9 p.m., all night routes will be plowed in St. Paul, and at 8 a.m. Friday, day plow routes will be plowed.
For more information on the snow emergency, and where parking is permitted, click here.
State Patrol: 62 crashes Thursday morning
Mankato declares snow emergency
The city of Mankato declared a snow emergency as snow continues to fall.
Beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday, January 19 until 8 a.m., Friday, there is no parking on streets so snow can be removed.
Temporary parking is available at no cost in the Mankato Place and Civic Center parking ramps.
Metro area cities declare snow emergencies
Cities in the metro area are declaring snow emergencies as the snow starts to pile up.
Robbinsdale has declared a snow emergency event, which will take effect at 10 p.m. Thursday. No on-street parking is permitted until roads are plowed curb to curb.
Plymouth and Eden Prairie have also declared emergencies.
Crash numbers racking up; bus delays
The Minnesota State Patrol reports that crashes are racking up amid the latest round of snow.
Statewide, as of 7:30 a.m., there have been 54 crashes since the start of the latest snow event, as well as another 95 vehicles spinning out.
There was at least one reported semi spinout.
Metro Transit reported, as of 8 a.m., that about one-third of buses were delayed, with an average delay of about five minutes.
The light-rail lines were not experiencing any delays.
National Weather Service reports latest snow totals
Not an easy morning commute
Twin Cities could still see up to 6" total
A winter storm warning is in effect for much of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin through late Thursday, where they can expect at least 6-plus inches of accumulation.
The Twin Cities is in a winter weather advisory, with 3-6 inches expected. The further southeast you head, the larger the snow totals. The farther northwest you head, less snow will stack up. WCCO meteorologist Riley O'Connor says that it's possible parts of the Twin Cities could still see up to 6 inches of snow when all's said and done.
As of about 5 a.m., there were already over 3 inches reported in parts of the state.
Prepare for a long, slow and a very slick drive to work, but the evening commute will be slightly better. The snow will transition into flurries by lunch time, and the system will exit late Thursday.
Thursday's high will be 30 degrees in the metro. Friday will be a few degrees cooler, but still above average. Saturday and Sunday will be a few degrees warmer, providing comfortable conditions to get out and enjoy the fresh blanket of snow.
With the latest dose of winter, now is the time to make sure you have a winter kit handy in your vehicle. Jumper cables, and ice scraper and brush, and a portable shovel are just some of the items you should have available in your car during winter months. Click here for more information.
