Austin Daily Herald and Associated Press

Austin and southern Minnesota dug out today after a winter storm brought heavy snow and blizzard-like conditions Tuesday that closed several roads across the state.

The National Weather Service says about 7 inches fell in Austin on Tuesday along with higher amounts in the Twin Cities. About 10.5 inches of snow had fallen on Lakeville in the southern Twin Cities by Tuesday night, and other snowfall reports include 10 inches in Madelia, 9 inches in Rosemount, 8.5 inches in New Ulm and 6.6 inches in Albert Lea.

The snow and blustery winds that locally reached 30 mph gusts caused Mower County to pull plows from the roads at 4 p.m Tuesday after crews couldn’t keep up with drifting. The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed Interstate 90 west of Albert Lea along with all highways south of Highway 14 and west of Interstate 35 in southern Minnesota where wind gusts topped 40 mph. The roads reopened this morning, but MnDOT was urging caution in those areas. Freeborn County issued a travel ban during the storm.

County crews were back on the roads this morning.

Most schools were closed Tuesday, and several rural schools like Grand Meadow, Lyle, LeRoy-Ostrander, Southland, Blooming Prairie and Hayfield-Brownsdale were closed again Wednesday, while Austin started two hours late. Riverland Community College started at 10 a.m.

Law enforcement dealt with nearly 400 crashes statewide. While some cars were reported in the ditch locally, no major accidents were reported.

Law enforcement and MnDOT urged drivers to allow extra time to reach their destinations.

Many planes were grounded at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

While some continued drifting was expected Wednesday, The National Weather Service was promising some sunshine later Wednesday.

Highs will be in the mid- to upper 20s for the rest of the week with a slight chance for snow on Sunday.

Austin issues snow emergency

The city of Austin issued a snow emergency, which started at 8 p.m. Tuesday and will last for three days.

Parking in city business areas will be prohibited from 1 to 8 a.m. during the 72-hour snow emergency. Business areas include the midtown area, the Sterling Shopping Center, the Hormel Foods Corp. plant area and the East Side businesses.

All vehicles on streets, avenues, places and drives in the city from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. the next day must be be parked only on the side of the street with even numbered postal addresses on even-numbered days of the month. Similarly, they shall be parked only on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd-numbered days of the month.

For more on road conditions in the area and throughout the state go to www. http://hb.511mn.org/#roadReports?timeFrame=TODAY&layers=allReports%2CroadReports%2CwinterDriving%2CvoxReports%2CweatherWarnings%2CotherStates