Blizzard conditions cause hundreds of crashes

[December 10, 2012]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A slow-moving storm has dumped at least 16 inches of snow on parts of Minnesota, blanketing the Twin Cities, making some rural roads impassable and leading to at least one fatal crash.

The heaviest snowfall the Twin Cities has experienced in two years led to the cancellation of dozens of flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Sunday and caused hundreds of traffic accidents around the state.

Blizzard conditions, blowing and drifting snow made visibility so poor that the state Department of Transportation pulled snowplows off the highways Sunday afternoon in southwest and west Minnesota.

The Minnesota State Patrol reported nearly 600 crashes by Sunday night. The patrol says one person was killed in a crash involving a semi on Highway 61 near Red Wing.

[Associated Press]

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