ALBERT LEA, Minn. –The Minnesota Transportation Department closed Interstate 90 west to the South Dakota border again —150 miles — because of zero visibility. The transcontinental trunk route would be barricaded at entrance ramps until at least 6 a.m., the department said. I-90 had been closed earlier but reopened in a brief let-up. Then the blizzard picked up again. Sustained winds of 30 mph and gusts to 50 mph were creating massive snowdrifts and whiteouts, Things are just as severe across South Dakota. Too, the north-south Interstate 35 trunk, which intersects I-90 at Albert Lea, was closed to Iowa. So too were lesser routes. These included Highway 218 between Austin and Blooming Prairie. Travel was discouraged on Highway 14 from a few miles west of Owatonna to Mankato.
Earlier: Winter storm advice: Stay off roads