DULUTH, Minn. — A second round of heavy snow hit central and northern Minnesota Thursday, resulting in accumulations of nearly two feet since Tuesday, Dec. 13.
The National Weather Service reported 22.7 inches of snow in Duluth, making it the eighth biggest 48-hour storm to ever hit the city. The largest storm recorded is the Halloween Blizzard in 1991, according to NWS Duluth.
The snow mostly missed the Twin Cities earlier in the week, but Thursday's round dropped a couple of inches across the metro. As of noon, NWS Twin Cities reported 3.4 inches of snow at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Chanhassen had 4.6 inches.
Duluth was under a Blizzard Warning from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning, but it's since been downgraded to a Winter Weather Advisory. As a result of the snow, schools in the area were closed and Duluth City Council shifted its Thursday meeting to a virtual/remote meeting.
Bentleyville USA, a popular holiday destination near Lake Superior, also remained closed on Thursday.
Duluth remains under a Blizzard Warning until 6 p.m. Thursday, while the metro will be under a Winter Storm Warning from midnight to 6 p.m. Thursday. The metro is expected to get between 3-6 inches.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has 200 plows in the metro and 800 statewide, with 1,600 plow operators on hand to help keep more than 30,000 lanes clear.