Winter storm brings heavy snow to Minneapolis area
A major winter storm swept through parts of eastern Minnesota, bringing heavy snow to the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, footage showed.
A powerful winter storm hitting northern regions of the country has begun dumping heavy snow in several states, causing delays on roads and airports as authorities warn of dangerous conditions for travel.
According to the National Weather Service, tens of millions of people were under blizzard and winter storm warnings on Dec. 29 from Minnesota and Iowa to Michigan, New York and Maine.
Federal forecasters said more than a foot of snow is expected to fall in the upper Great Lakes region, and twice that amount could fall on the south shore of Lake Superior.
Weather officials urged people to avoid traveling and warned them to bring a winter survival kit in case they get stuck in their car. Visibility may be near zero in some areas.
“Travel could be very difficult or impossible,” the weather bureau in Marquette, Michigan, said, warning of 3 to 7 inches of snow and 80 mph winds. “Hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning commute.”
Power outages began to occur frequently. More than 80,000 homes and businesses were without power in Michigan on the morning of Dec. 29, according to USA TODAY’s power outage tracking information.
A ground stop order was issued at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Several airports, including Albany, New York, and Burlington, Vermont, were deicing aircraft from their runways.
The winter storm, which began gaining strength over the weekend, is expected to reach its peak strength on December 29, according to the National Weather Service.
As snow accumulates in the northern United States, arctic air will also move south, breaking the daily heat wave that brought record warmth to some cities.
“Brief showers and possibly some thunderstorms will herald the arrival of a cold front that will move across the East Coast and Florida and into the Atlantic and Gulf Coast today,” the National Weather Service said. “Today’s maximum temperatures will be 30 to 40 degrees cooler than yesterday in many parts of the central region of the country.”
