Minnesota digs out after snowstorm blankets most of state

(AP) - Significant accumulations. Stranded travelers. Snow emergencies.

After a mostly dry winter, Minnesotans were reacquainting themselves with the winter lingo Sunday after a slow-moving snowstorm dumped depths in the double digits across much of the state.

"We kind of forgot what this was like," said Todd Krause, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen.

Accumulations generally ranged between 8 and 15 inches in most places, with lingering snow continuing to fall well into Sunday. Many areas were likely to break records for biggest-ever February snowfall.

The storm slowed road and air travel, forcing the closure of the Minneapolis-St. Paul for several hours Saturday.

Airport spokesman Pat Hogan said Sunday that two of three runways were up and running again, but he said many travelers would continue to experience delays.

Authorities reported nearly 500 traffic accidents, but no fatalities as of Sunday. Authorities said it was lucky that the storm hit over the weekend, making it easier for people to simply stay home and avoid the snow-clotted roads. Hundreds of snowplows were working Sunday to clear roads and highways.

A man found partially frozen to the pavement in a residential part of Chaska died Sunday at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Sean Patrick Humphrey turned 19 Sunday. Police said he had no hat, coat or gloves when he apparently fell and hit his head on the curb.

However, Sgt. Mike Duzan said, police weren't sure yet whether his death was caused by the storm. Temperatures were in the upper 20s, and the area had received some freezing rain and a dusting of snow.

Duzan said they didn't know what caused him to fall, if that's was indeed what happened, and that the cause of death hadn't been determined.

A snowplow driver found Humphrey just before 5 a.m Saturday. Authorities said he was there at least a couple hours, and his core body temperature was 77 degrees when he was first taken to the hospital.

Police didn't suspect foul play, but Duzan said it still wasn't clear Sunday night he was doing out, and that police hoped to hear from anyone who might have information on his whereabouts Friday night and early Saturday.

Heavy snow and ice snapped power lines in many parts of southeastern Minnesota, leading to widespread power outages late Saturday.

Most of the power had been restored by Sunday morning, though about 2,500 customers of Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services were still without power, and the co-op said it would likely take a couple days to restore power to all of them.

Several parts of the state were hit hardest. Winona and the southeastern corner of the state were tallying up to two full feet of snow for the weekend - a foot on Friday into Saturday, and another 24 hours later.

Winona hotels were turning away guests both nights. The Holiday Inn was allowing stranded travelers to sleep on couches, cots and even the floor, exhausting its supply of extra blankets and pillows.

"We just tried to fit people in as much as we could," hotel employee Chrissy Rybarczyk said.

Near Lewiston, dairy farmer Jean Rowekamp said a barn roof collapsed while cattle were inside.

"There were some trapped. I don't know how many, were in there," she said. "They did get them out."

Rowekamp said some of the cattle were injured, but she'd have to wait and see how they fare in the coming days. The farm has about 200 milking cows. It took about six hours to clean out the barn and remove enough debris to allow the cows back inside.

While the snowfall was tapering by Sunday afternoon, Krause said another storm was shaping up that could give the state more snow by Wednesday or Thursday.

"But it's certainly not going to be anything like we've seen this weekend," Krause said.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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