Freezing rain resulted in a Wednesday morning travel nightmare across Twin Cities
A band of light freezing rain entered the Twin Cities metro just after Midnight on January 11, 2023, and continued through about 8-9 AM that morning. According to the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities, the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport observation reported 0.03 inches of precipitation today, resulting in a glaze of ice across most metro area roadways and sidewalks.
Numerous accidents were reported across the Twin Cities metro, with the Minnesota State Patrol PIO reporting 120 crashes, 116 spin-outs/vehicles off the road, and 19 jackknifed semis between 9:30 PM on January 10th through 7:30 AM on January 11th. From 7:30 to 11:30 AM, the Minnesota State Patrol PIO reported another 82 crashes, 85 vehicle spin-outs/vehicles off the road, and three jackknifed semis.
In the dramatic video below captured by the Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic cameras this morning on Highway 52 in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and uploaded to Youtube by Southeast Metro Fire News, you can see at least five vehicles lose control and crash due to the slick and icy conditions with at least one vehicle rolling over. According to scanner traffic, no serious injuries were reported due to this multi-vehicle incident.
Due to the icy conditions, Minnesota Metro Transit suspended all bus services just before 5 AM on January 11th. Light rail and Northstar services were operating with no issues at this time. By 8 AM, the Orange, Red, A, C, and D Rapid Transit services had resumed, but regular bus services reminded suspended. About 25 minutes later, Metro Transit began slowly releasing buses to restore regular service, with full bus service restored by 9:45 AM.