Midwest Snowstorm

TOWN OF KEYSTONE, Wis. -- Parts of the Upper Midwest dug out from a heavy snowfall Saturday that caused more than 400 traffic accidents in Minnesota, and wintry conditions also were being blamed for a collision in northern Wisconsin that killed two people.

Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of the Twin Cities area by Saturday evening, downing trees and causing sporadic power outages.

The storm that began late Friday night was blamed for a collision Saturday morning that killed both drivers and left a passenger hospitalized. The sheriff's department in Wisconsin's Bayfield County said the storm produced "rapidly deteriorating road conditions" that likely contributed to the crash.

Kevin Kraujalis of the National Weather Service's Duluth office estimated that Bayfield County had a couple of inches of snow on the ground when the collision occurred. The meteorologist said the county had about 5 inches as of 6 p.m. Saturday.

The Minnesota State Patrol responded to 401 crashes as of 4 p.m, with 45 of them involving minor injuries, Patrol Capt. Matt Langer said. There were no other immediate reports of fatalities or major injuries.

The storm dumped 11 inches of snow in parts of Eden Prairie, Minn., and 10 inches in the Forest Lake and Mankato areas, said Todd Krause, a federal meteorologist in Minneapolis. The major snowfall activity ended by early afternoon, and Sunday's forecast looked milder, he said. "People will still see snowflakes across much of Minnesota (on Sunday) but it won't be adding up to anything," he said. Jack Serier, a commander with the St. Paul Police Department, said officers dealt with 20 to 30 car accidents by about noon, with many of the collisions involving four or five vehicles. Drivers were being careful, he said, but they were skidding on a glaze of ice that developed under much of the snow pack.

"There was nothing reckless," he said. "But when they hit that ice, no matter what they tried to do they spun out of control." The snow left the football field unusable at Minnesota State-Mankato, prompting the postponement of the school's game against Minnesota Duluth. School officials and conference administrators were considering their options for rescheduling the game.

The football game between Gustavus Adolphus College and Carleton College was pushed back to 1 p.m. Sunday.

Meteorologists said Ashland and Bayfield counties could get 4 to 6 inches of snow on Sunday, while parts of western and north-central Wisconsin could see about an inch.

The snow in both states wasn't expected to stick around for long. Recent warm weather meant the ground is still relatively warm, meteorologists said, and temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to high 30s for the next few days.

www.wisn.com

Things That Just Don't Seem To Be Fair With Snow

Winter snow storms are not always fun.........or fair........... no matter where you live!
This family is lucky (I hope) that this tree did not fall onto their home. Just one of the bad things about living in the country (or anywhere I guess) with trees all around.


And sometimes it's difficult being a pet goose in the country and being lost from home. We think this guy was taking a gentle swim in the ditch and suddenly realised that he had floated from his own yard. I hope he found his way home in all that blowing snow.


Just as bad as being without electric and not being able to "flush" is being a dog and not being able to "sniff" and find where you need to go. Thank goodness for the puppy the owner carried a shovel to dig the way.

And for many of you that can read this today (whether you like the post or not) thank your electric company! For alot of you this storm has been a nightmare.

Care to share your experiences? Leave a comment........

Hope you are warm and well fed. Please check on your neighbors and pets. Don't forget to feed the birds nice things.

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

During a phone conversation early this morning from my daughter in Baltimore it occured to me that our children may have never seen snow of any great depth. There are 24 inches of snow so far in Baltimore and that is the most my daughter has ever seen. A lover of snow, she was laughing at the fact she had to dig a path to walk the dog. UGH!

Alot of us that have children that have never witnessed the "great snow storm" probably have some fond memories inches upon inches of snow. I am sure someone out there has a memory or two left of life when snow storms were snow storms. Years ago there was no doppler radar, no weather man on every channel and certainly no up to the minute updates.

I can remember a time where there was no "modernization" with winter. Most folks years ago used the almanac or weather (slight at that) once, maybe twice a day. And if the winter storm came, it did just that! It came. And being children of that generation, we waited.

We waited at the window watching the snow fall and waited for the clearance from good old mom telling us we could go out and play. Twenty-four inches of snow years ago was no big deal. We needed the snow drifts because it made it that much more "explorable".

Since this is a snow day for most big people too I hope you will share some of your fondest memories of snow when you were a child. One of the things about snow that tickles me (and sledding) are the plastic sleds. Do you remember when they were all wood? And if your sled broke or you didn't have one you'd beg your mom for a cookie sheet?


What do you remember? Or if you want to just comment on this storm. Let us know what you have been doing.