MN Weather: Easter Sunday Heavy Snow Could Impact Travel, Even Take Down Power Lines

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Tomorrow's storm could impact travel -- and even take down power lines.

"We know winter doesn't really follow the calendar," Anne Meyer said of MNDOT.

It's been a while since our last major snowstorm, but winter isn't over yet.

"There will be times, especially when we're seeing an inch to two inches of snow per hour, thats going to impact visibility that's going to impact road conditions," Meyer said.

With several inches of heavy, wet snow expected to fall throughout the day on Sunday across parts of the state, MNDOT is preparing for slushy and snow packed roads.

"Interstates like 35, 90, 94 will all see impacts on Sunday also corridors like highway 52, 169 down to Mankato," Meyer said.

Because this spring has been light on the snow, treatment supply levels are strong. Crews will do some light pre-treating on bridges and ramps overnight.

"The temperatures are going to help our crews out there so is the fact right now that they've got a clean slate highways are clear and they're warmer and that helps drivers," Meyer said.

While warm roads could help road crews, the heavy wet snow this storm could bring will challenge our power lines.

Xcel Energy says it has more than 300 employees and contractors ready to respond to possible outages and restore power during this storm.

To keep those critical crews safe amid COVID-19 concerns, Xcel Energy says "crews in the field only travel by one person per truck, practice social distancing while on a job site, and wear the proper personal protective equipment."

"It's one operator behind the snow plow," Meyer said.

MNDOT says plow truck cabs will be cleaned between shifts to keep drivers safe -- pandemic or not, the roads need to be cleared.

"Pay attention to road conditions this is something we haven't had to do for a while," Meyer said.

A reminder that once the storm passes there's still potential for blowing snow and wind chills in the teens on Monday.