MINNEAPOLIS — The 14th largest snow event in Minneapolis came with a punch, but residents are the ones still holding up their fists.
"It's too much snow! It's a lot of hard work," Amin Abdi said.
The south Minneapolis resident couldn't get his car out of his normal street parking spot last night, so he said he had no choice but to call out of work.
"We usually see 52 inches of snow a season in Minneapolis and we're already up to 48," Minneapolis Public Works' Joe Paumen said.
Paumen says the nearly 2 feet of snowpack has created challenges in clearing the snow. Keeping busy streets clear for first responders was a priority this week, leaving residential road cleanup to begin Thursday at 8 a.m. The city reports having roughly 60 snow-clearing machines out.
"With snow emergencies, it's important to move your car. We don't want to tow but we have to get our plows in to clean up to the curb," Paumen said.
Minneapolis towed 171 cars within the first 24 hours of the snow emergency, meanwhile, St. Paul says it saw a lower number of tows at 118.
St. Paul Publics Works' Lisa Hiebert said they have 70 plows working around the clock to clear the city's 1,800 miles of road.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter was even a part of the clean-up efforts. He posted a picture of him in a plow and said, "The last 48 hrs have proven to be a true test of our resources, and Team Saint Paul stepped up in incredible ways to dig us out of one of the largest (and heaviest) snowfalls we've seen this early in the season."
Both St. Paul and Minneapolis Public Works Departments keep in contact about their snow removal plans. Hiebert says the city made the decision to wait until Wednesday for the snow emergency because of the duration and strength of the winter storm.
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