Snow is falling, cars are sliding into ditches, a few school districts started late today — welcome to the first serious snowstorm of 2010.
Snow began falling Sunday and will continue into Tuesday, prompting the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis., to issue a winter storm warning for Mower County.
When it's all over, Austin could receive as much as 10 inches of new snow; as of about 8 a.m. today, it had 3 inches, the most in the region. Much of that snow will be blown around by blustery winds, according to the weather service forecast.
The snow began causing problems this morning, as vehicles slid into ditches. The Mower County Sheriff's Department had received about 10 reports of vehicles in ditches as of 8 a.m.
Last evening, a Mantorville man was injured in a rollover crash on U.S. 14 near Kasson. The Minnesota State Patrol said the driver lost control on the icy highway and the pickup rolled into the median.
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In Olmsted County, one vehicle collided with a snowplow between Stewartville and Chatfield, though there was no report of injuries. Sheriff's departments throughout the region also reported the usual number of problems with spinouts.
As the day goes on, numbers could rise because the Austin area is expected to receive 3 to 5 more inches of snow today, 2 to 4 more tonight and maybe an inch on Tuesday.
Wind, however, could be a major headache because it could gust up to 25 mph on Tuesday. That evening, the low will drop to about 4 degrees with a windchill around minus 11.
Wednesday will bring the end of the snowfall, with sunny skies and a high near 16. Friday and Friday night could be cloudy with a slight chance of more snow.
This weekend, the forecast predicts you'll have a chance to enjoy the new snow by skiing, sledding or snowmobiling because it should be sunny.
