Ten Inches On The Ground; Schools Open; Delays Expected On Metro Bus Routes

Updated 6:40 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10: A weather spotter in St. Louis Park reported 10 inches of snow at 10 p.m. Sunday.

St. Louis Park schools and Benilde St. Margaret's are open and on time Monday morning, according to the latest information.

The city of St. Louis Park parking ban still is in effect. As a reminder:

The ban will remain in effect until streets are plowed curb to curb. 

Several residents complained Sunday on the SLP Facebook page about the lack of plowing. At about 11 p.m. Sunday, Rachel Sapiente Rickert wrote, "They did just go down emergency route residential streets with plows in the 10 hour."

At 6:34 a.m. Monday, Elizabeth Bradford Hanly wrote on the city's Facebook page, "Extremely disappointed that the streets remained unplowed yesterday. They are a real mess now and there is ice under all that snow that really could have used some chemical treatment. My husband had to plow our small side street so that he can get to a main road on his way to work. I used to brag about how SLP did such a great job plowing and how the streets, including our little one, was always plowed by the time I woke in the morning after a snowstorm. Not so much this time. :("

The Minnesota Department of Transportation reports travel on Highways 100, 7 and 169, and I-394 are "fair."

For up-to-the-minute commuting information, check the St. Louis Park Patch map.

A notice on the Metro Transit website reports:

At 7 a.m., there are 434 buses operating on 109 routes. About 62% of buses are on schedule; the average delay is 5 minutes. 

Light rail and Northstar are on schedule. We continue to clear snow from bus shelters, rail platforms and Park & Ride lots.

***

Updated 9:45 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9: Weather spotters around the St. Louis Park area have reported 7 to 10 inches of snow.

After the city posted a notice that plows were on main roads and "do not anticipate going into neighborhoods until after snow subsides" (see below), some residents expressed their displeasure on Facebook:

The first to write on the wall was Dedria Noll:

"This city used to be the best for plowing!! I can not believe you have not plowed the streets yet. Ridiculous!"

The City of St. Louis Park responded to Dedria soon after:

"We apologize that neighborhood streets have not yet been plowed. Crews worked since very early this morning keeping the main drags free of snow. Once the snowfall stops, the entire system will be cleared curb to curb."

Residents continued to post complaints on the city's Facebook page as the night went on:

• Kristin Erdmann wrote, "Extremely disappointed that this city is not plowing streets until the snow is done. Close to, if not over, a foot of snow and if a person has to leave home they struggle just to get to main roads and some of them aren't plowed. Just because it snowed doesn't mean everyone put life on hold. Disappointed!"
• Michelle Robb Tanner wrote, "... Totally wrong move. If we are luck to have the plows come overnight, people are going to have to undig themselves before work on a Monday morning. Or they aren't even going to come around until tomorrow and we are going to have a lot of stuck residents tomorrow morning."
• Debby Schumacher wrote, "Waiting to plow is a terrible decision!! Residents are trapped. If there was at least one pass down the street people could plow out to it. The City dropped the ball-bad move by public works dept."
• Omar Abdelfattah wrote, "Where do we park if we can't park on the street at all?"
• Nancy Walter Ritzman wrote, "Say, SLP, why are the plows not out yet? Michelle, you have stated my exact worry - not being able to get out of the driveway in the morning. SLP, you make us move the cars, SO PLOW! So now we have to go out early morning and snow blow the bottoms of the driveways after the plows go through. gee, and then violate the noise policy too early. PLOW already!"

The city responded again at 9:52 p.m.:

We apologize for the inconvenience. Due to the continued snowfall, city staff made the decision to wait until it subsided to plow neighborhood streets. Those operations should begin within a couple of hours. Please feel free to direct questions, comments or complaints to 952-924-2562.

The National Weather Service says the current temperature is 29 degrees. Another 1 to 3 inches of snow are forecast overnight. The high temperature will drop to 5 Sunday night, and will only rise to 10 degrees Monday. Wind chills Monday will range from -1 to -7.

As for area roads, the Minnesota Department of Transportation reports that travel on Highway 100, Highway 7, Highway 169 and I-394 is "difficult."

WCCO reports the Minnesota State Patrol said there have been 597 crashes since Saturday night. Sixty-one of them involved injuries, including one fatal accident in Wacouta.

St. Louis Park schools and Benilde St. Margaret's are open and on time Monday morning, according to the latest information.

***

Updated 3:13 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9: The City of St. Louis Park has posted plowing information on its website. A notice at the top of the city's homepage says:

The parking ban IS IN EFFECT. The ban will remain in effect until streets are plowed curb to curb. Crews are currently plowing mains and do not anticipate going into neighborhoods until after snow subsides For more information visit:www.stlouispark.org/snow-plowing.html

***

Original post at 1:30 p.m. Sunday: A winter storm warning remains in effect until midnight Sunday, Dec. 9, for the City of St. Louis Park and much of Minnesota.

A total of anywhere from 9 to 15 inches is expected to fall on St. Louis Park by the time all is said and done, with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen forecasting snowfall to wrap up Sunday evening.

Travel is expected to be difficult, with winds increasing in the afternoon and evening. The storm has already caused many accidents and crashes throughout the West Metro.

"The heavy snow will taper off this evening with a few snow showers expected thereafter," the National Weather Service said in a winter storm warning. "The wind will then increase from the northwest with drifting snow lingering this evening."

Check out our previous post about SLP's parking rules.

Here is the full text of the warning, issued by the National Weather Service at 9:23 a.m. Sunday:

FORECAST SNOW AMOUNTS HAVE INCREASED AS MAJOR WINTER STORM CONTINUES.

BLIZZARD CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS WESTERN MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL AND STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS BETWEEN 20 AND 40 MPH. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN FOR HEAVY SNOWFALL. FAR SOUTHERN MINNESOTA REMAINS UNDER A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL.

A POWERFUL WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY. SNOW WILL EXPAND THIS MORNING AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES TODAY. BEHIND THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...SUSTAINED NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED OVER WESTERN MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE GRADUALLY TAPERING OFF THIS EVENING. SOME WIND GUSTS MAY EXCEED 40 MPH. CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL RESULT IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS MAKING TRAVEL NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE BY THIS AFTERNOON. AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ARE ALSO EXPECTED FARTHER EAST...BUT LIGHTER WINDS PRECLUDE THE ISSUANCE OF A BLIZZARD WARNING AT THIS TIME.

TEMPERATURES WILL PLUMMET BEHIND THE SYSTEM TO WELL BELOW ZERO LATE TONIGHT OVER WESTERN MINNESOTA WITH WIND CHILL READINGS AS LOW AS 20 TO 30 BELOW. TRAVEL IN THE BLIZZARD AND WINTER STORM WARNING AREAS IS NOT ADVISED. TRAVEL WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT AND STRANDED MOTORISTS RISK GETTING FROSTBITE OR HYPOTHERMIA DUE TO THE FRIGID WIND CHILL LATE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.

WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT...

* TIMING...SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL DEVELOP TODAY. THE HEAVY SNOW WILL TAPER OFF THIS EVENING WITH A FEW SNOW SHOWERS EXPECTED THEREAFTER. THE WIND WILL THEN INCREASE FROM THE NORTHWEST WITH DRIFTING SNOW LINGERING THIS EVENING.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...8 TO 15 INCHES WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS IN MINNESOTA.

* OTHER IMPACTS...AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN MINNESOTA AS NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

Planning to take photos of the snowfall this weekend? Submit your shots to St. Louis Park Patch by adding them to our snow gallery.

See more coverage of the storm:

• Share Your Snowy Photos on Patch
• St. Louis Park Turns to Twitter to Talk Snow
• Snow Causes Crashes in St. Louis Park
• Parking Ban Notice: Move Vehicles Off Streets Tonight
• Hennepin County Sheriff Issues Thin Ice Warning

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