Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s late April, but Old Man Winter was showing Friday that he isn’t finished with Minnesota just yet.
Heavy snow began falling in parts of western Minnesota, where a handful of schools closed early. Ivanhoe reported 2 inches of snow as of 1 p.m., and 5.5 inches was reported in the western town of Donnelly near Morris by 4 p.m. By 7:30 p.m., Appleton and Madison both reported 8 inches.
The National Weather Service said a large area of western and northern Minnesota could get 6 inches to 12 inches of snow by Saturday. Accumulations of 8 inches to 15 inches was expected Friday night and Saturday morning in Walker, Grand Rapids, Bigfork, Ely, Crane Lake and International Falls in north-central Minnesota.
In the Twin Cities, rain was expected to switch over to snow Friday night, but little accumulation was expected, perhaps less than half an inch, the weather service said.
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A blizzard warning was issued Friday afternoon for part of northwestern Minnesota including Fergus Falls and Breckenridge. Sustained winds of 25 mph to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph were expected to cause blizzard conditions, especially over open country.
A winter storm warning was Friday night for a large swath of the state extending from west-central Minnesota northeastward into north-central Minnesota. A winter weather advisory was in effect to the south and east of the warning area, including the marshall, St. Cloud and Willmar areas.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported difficult driving conditions across a large part of west-central and north-central Minnesota on Friday evening, including Interstate 94 from the Alexandria area to Moorhead.
