Wisconsin Weather: Finding The Silver Lining Of This Week's Piles Of Snow

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The latest rounds of snow has led to a number of new school closings. One of the areas that closed down for the school day was in Hudson, Wisconsin.

It was a "glass half full, glass half empty" kind of day in Western Wisconsin. On the one hand, conditions looked picture perfect, with fresh white snow falling everywhere. On the other, it turned everything else into a bit of a hassle.

Jorge Mora lives in Hudson, but he moved there from south-central Mexico. He said the slick conditions were making biking a bit of a chore.

"I like the snow but it's kind of, I don't know, a little trouble on the roads," he said.

Traffic was moving slowly in Hudson, and many other areas in the Twin Cities area, but plow companies were moving quickly. Driver Kyle Krueger has readjusted to the crisp climate after moving back to New Richmond from Houston.

"We had about 15 hours the other night, and then we'll have about 10 or 12 tonight," Krueger said. "When I was in Texas I didn't see the beauty of it as much. I was like, 'I'm never going back to snow.' But now that I'm back, it's fun. Once this gets down, I've got two little nephews, we'll go sledding and do all the fun stuff."

Mark Sylte was another finding the silver lining in the silvery snow. He says it's an opportunity for exercise but he also has another, more business-motivated reason for liking the snow.

"I work in collision repair, so I like snow," he said. "We've been waiting for a few months for a good snowstorm."

Minneapolis, St. Paul, and many other communities have declared snow emergencies this evening so the plows can clear the streets. MnDOT is warning people to stay off the roads in parts of west central Minnesota because blowing snow is creating white-out conditions.