Snowy roads in Minnesota lead 577 crashes, 2 deaths on Wednesday

Snowy roads Wednesday result in 577 crashes, 2 deaths

Freezing temperatures and snowfall resulted in slick road conditions on Wednesday and Thursday. The Minnesota State Patrol reported 577 crashes from midnight to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, two of which were fatal.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Snowfall and freezing temperatures midweek created slick road conditions, resulting in hundreds of crashes and at least two deaths.

Crashes and spinouts

Snow leads to crashes on MN roads: Compilation

Here is a compilation of crashes captured on Minnesota traffic cameras on Wednesday and Thursday after about an inch fell in the Twin Cities metro.

The Minnesota State Patrol reported 577 crashes across the state from midnight to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, along with 168 spinouts and 23 jackknifed semi-trucks. Of those, 48 people were injured, and two others were killed.

The first fatal crash happened in Owatonna around 7:40 a.m. on Interstate 35. The crash report says a 25-year-old woman was driving northbound on the icy and snow-covered road when she lost control, left the roadway and rolled in the ditch.

The 25-year-old woman and a 4-year-old child suffered non-life-threatening injuries. An infant boy was killed in the collision, according to the crash report.

A 31-year-old Brainerd man was killed in a single-vehicle crash in Crow Wing County around 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The man was driving a pickup truck on Highway 371 when he left the roadway and rolled into the median. The roads were covered in snow and ice at the time of the crash, according to the report.

Additional crashes have been reported overnight, including a multi-vehicle crash in Burnsville, which happened around midnight on the Interstate 35W bridge over the Minnesota River. The driver of an SUV had already spun out when two other drivers lost control and spun across the ice, before they all collided.

The State Patrol has yet to provide updated crash numbers for Thursday.

Multi-vehicle crash in Burnsville: Traffic cameras

MnDOT traffic cameras captured a multi-vehicle crash in Burnsville around midnight on the Interstate 35W bridge over the Minnesota River. The driver of an SUV had already spun out when two other drivers lost control and spun across the ice, before they all collided.

Snow led to slick roads Wednesday, Thursday morning

The snow started in the Twin Cities before sunrise on Wednesday when air temperatures started to dip below freezing, but the roads were in pretty good shape until the evening commute.

This is because the freeze/thaw cycle for soil is delayed by air temperature. It takes a while for the ground to catch up to colder air temperatures, especially during daylight.

Well, after several plus hours of sub-freezing air temperatures on Wednesday, the ground started to freeze. Add a snowy burst for a few hours around and over the evening commute as that is occurring, and that spells accumulating snow on our roadways and some slippery conditions.