MOORHEAD, Minn. – The State Patrol reported 146 crashes statewide in a six-hoor period, mostly in northwest Minnesota. Three semis jack-knifed. Eighty-four vehicles spun out and were off the road. Nine accidents involved injuries, one of them serious. In southern Minnesota there were numerous blockages on Interstate 35 north of Owatonna. Strong winds and snow created the deplorable driving conditions The storm diminished by late afternoon Wednesday, but drifting continued in open areas. Then temperatures plummeted below zero overnight and were not expected return to positive numbers until Friday afternoon.
