A crazy, wacky spring

Everyone knew it was coming.

The weatherman let everyone know a “big blast” of winter was going to interrupt the spring we haven’t had — one more time!

But when it was finally unleashed, it came in just about every form imaginable. On Friday, thunder, lightning and even HAIL pelted down in sheets.

“Haven’t seen much hail this time of year,” one old-timer bellowed. He was right. It is unusual. But it was only the beginning.

On Saturday, the snow began early and continued on through the evening hours — dumping up to 19 inches of snow in the Minneota area. Canby reported 24 inches of snow. The Twin Cities had 15 to 19 inches.

“I’ve seen this four times in my time on the city crew,” said Maintenance man Jeff Yeo.

“Motorists are advised not to travel until conditions improve and MnDOT reopens the road. Motorists should plan accordingly. When a road is closed it is illegal to travel in that area,” said Mandi Lighthizer-Schmidt, of District 8, MnDOT.

Almost all roads around Minneota were closed due to the terrible driving conditions. They included Highway 68, Highway 23, Highway 59 and Highway 75.

“A Blizzard Warning for the majority of southwest and west central Minnesota is in effect,” reported Lighthizer-Schmidt. Snow plow operators eventually got on the roads and began clearing the mess by Sunday morning.

In Minneota, the crew had the streets open for travel by Sunday morning but many outside roads were still closed. Vision was hampered by blowing snow during most of the storm.

Sunday didn’t produce the snow expected so it became a time for digging out both people and vehicles.

The Minneota Schools were two hours late on Monday but school was held.

It was indeed a wacky-wild weekend.