Greater Minnesota Towns Deal With Snow Cleanup
NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. (WCCO) -- Along main streets across Minnesota, the dig out continued on Monday.
But what's different about a blast in April is that sunshine and warmer temperatures can help in a big way. Just as the outfield grass at Norwood Young America's baseball field was turning green, it is suddenly sealed under a thick blanket of white.
"You don't anticipate seeing this in April," said Public Works Director Tony Voigt.
Instead of tuning up lawn mowers and filling potholes, city crews are spending their hours carving into mountains of snow.
There is so much snow piled along city streets that crews are having a tough time finding places to put it.
"There's just a lot of extra cleanup. We're moving snow piles and you start running out of places to put the snow, that's the course of work today," Voigt said.
Anywhere from 16 to 20 inches of snow was common from west central Minnesota to the north metro.
That explains why store owners in Maple Plain were on avalanche patrol -- knocking drifts off overhead canopies.
At Wine and Spirits store, "The customer comes out the door and it falls, snow on the head. It means more trouble. Don't want customer to have trouble," Michelle Lee said.
John Ferril's best friend is suddenly his 1960s vintage Bolens tractor and snow blower.
"It's a winter wonderland," Ferril said.
He can call it that, but most probably have another name for this April surprise.
By midday on Monday, most paved highways were snow free. And the rural dirt roads might be melting, but they are turning into a muddy mess.
The winter that simply won't quit has now become the spring of sloppy surprises.
Along the Crow River in Delano, concern is now shifting from the snowfall to the snow melt. All eyes are turning to the changing flood forecasts in the days and weeks ahead.
