Thousands of Minnesota homes and businesses remained without power Friday, in the wake of a winter storm that dropped more than 2 feet of snow on parts of the state.

That slow-moving storm continued to affect the region Friday, with ongoing light snow across Minnesota — and blizzard conditions across the Dakotas.

Minnesota utilities reported more than 20,000 homes and businesses were still without electricity as of mid-afternoon Friday — down from more than 35,000 earlier in the day. They said it could take days to fully restore electrical service. 

Most of the remaining outages are from the Brainerd, Mora and Hinckley areas northeast toward Duluth and the Arrowhead.

Snow totals reported to the National Weather Service as of Friday afternoon included 30.5 inches at Rice Lake north of Duluth, 29 inches at Finland in Lake County, 28.5 inches in Duluth's Gary-New Duluth neighborhood, 28.2 inches in the higher terrain northwest of Two Harbors and 28 inches at Beaver Bay.

The Duluth airport reported 24.2 inches of snow, putting it among the top 10 two-day snowfalls on record for the city.

Elsewhere in Minnesota, snow reports included 18.6 inches in Chisholm, 18.3 inches near Kerrick, 15.3 inches in Moorhead, 13.7 inches at Camp Ripley, 5.5 inches at Hopkins and 5 inches at Granite Falls.

Some Minnesota school districts canceled or delayed the start of classes again Friday morning, amid the power outages and difficult driving conditions.

Duluth and Crosby-Ironton public schools were among those that were closed Friday. Mankato, Crookston and Pine City were among the many districts that were starting classes two hours late. Check with local districts for updates.

The heavy, wet snow sent trees falling onto power lines — and that deep snow also was making it difficult for repair crews.

Minnesota Power reported Thursday that some of its crews were using snowmobiles and other tracked vehicles to access downed lines.

“The challenge with this winter storm response is moving people to the areas where they’re needed to make repairs,” Dan Gunderson, vice president of transmission and distribution for Minnesota Power, said in a news release. “Our trucks are having a tough time getting around and many roads are impassible due to trees down. We know what we need to fix, but the same deep snow that might have people stuck at home is slowing our crews.”

Lake Country Power in northeast Minnesota reported being “optimistic” about making progress in restoring service Friday, with more roads plowed and only light snow in the forecast.

The utility reported that crews from around the state — including from Mankato and Albert Lea — had traveled north to help with repairs.

North Dakota transportation officials said Interstate 94 was back open Friday afternoon between Fargo and Bismarck, after an earlier closure due to blizzard conditions across the Great Plains. 

During that earlier closure, gates were used to prevent vehicles from accessing the freeway — though the North Dakota Highway Patrol shared video footage Thursday of a semi crashing through one of those gates.

Interstate 29 also was back open south of Fargo after an earlier closure. But even where highways technically were open, authorities were advising no travel Friday across much of eastern North Dakota and most of South Dakota.

In Minnesota, MnDOT was reporting snow-covered highways across most of the state. The State Patrol responded to hundreds of crashes and spinouts on snowy roads on Thursday.

To see the original story and read related reports, follow this link to the MPR News website. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/12/16/thousands-remain-without-power-across-minnesota-in-wake-of-...