A second round of heavy snow over the Thanksgiving weekend dumped more than 19 inches on Duluth, and city officials advised Sunday morning that some parts of the city were "completely impassable." Duluth and much of the North Shore remained under a blizzard warning until noon Sunday.
Duluth officials asked residents to stay off the city's main roads. Access to Duluth's Park Point neighborhood across the Aerial Lift Bridge was limited to residents only, with police checking IDs at the bridge.
The National Weather Service said more than 19 inches of snow fell in Duluth as of 6 a.m., with another 1 to 3 inches expected before the storm moves out of the region. Cloquet recorded 19.5 inches.
A portion of Interstate 35 southwest of Duluth was closed Saturday night, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, although MnDOT cameras showed some traffic moving Sunday morning.
City authorities are taking a no-nonsense approach to keeping people safe in the Lake Superior canal area, which remains covered by the National Weather Service's larger blizzard warning.
Wind gusts of 50 plus miles per hour whipped up huge waves Saturday on Lake Superior, causing flooding at Canal Park, and knocked down branches and power lines in some areas.
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Access to Park Point in the canal area is limited Sunday to residents, and police are checking identifications at the Aerial Lift Bridge before allowing anyone to continue on, according to the latest update from city spokeswoman Kate Van Daele.
Street near the lake that remain closed because of high water include Morse, Buchanan, and the far end of Canal Park Drive, Van Daele said.
Snowplows have been out since 2 a.m. and will continue out clearing main roads and turn their attention to residential streets, she said.
"Please stay home and shelter in place until further notice," Van Daele said.
A notice posted online shortly after 10 a.m. by the city said that "main roads are plowed but need to be [reserved] for emergency vehicles and plows only. … Many areas like Canal Park are completely impassable. Most businesses are closed or have not yet opened, so again, please stay home and stay safe."
The Bentleyville holiday light display, Miller Hill Mall and the Glensheen mansion in Duluth all closed Saturday because of the weather. Duluth Transit Authority buses stopped running.
To the west in Aitkin County as of 8:30 a.m. Sunday, the Sheriff's Office reported that unplowed roads have 12 to 18 inches of snow. Roads that have been plowed are now "snow-packed, slippery and subject to drifting due to blowing snow," a Sheriff's Office statement read.
"Please continue to wait on any plans to travel today," the statement continued. "If you do go out, be sure to have an emergency kit as delays for emergencies and tows remain very long."
Across Minnesota, the State Patrol said that from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, it tallied 187 crashes, with 21 injuries and no deaths. There also were 314 vehicles that spun out or left the road and three semitrailer trucks that jackknifed.
Conditions were better in the Twin Cities, where a winter weather advisory was in effect till noon Sunday, with another 1 to 3 inches of snow during the daytime amid winds gusting up to 30 mph.
By Monday, the weather in the metro should be mostly sunny but colder, with highs in the lower 20s, the Weather Service said.