Blizzard Warning Lifted in Southeast Minnesota, Snow Removal Efforts and Difficult Travel Continues

Update: No Travel Advisory Lifted in Southeast Minnesota 

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Blizzard warning that was in place in Rochester and surrounding communities has been allowed to expire, however travel is still not advised in southeast Minnesota. 

See Also: Weather Closings and Delays for Monday, March 16, 2026 

The Minnesota Department of Transportation also indicates Interstate 90 west of Albert Lea and I-35 from Albert Lea into Iowa remain closed.

Preliminary snowfall reports indicate more than a foot of snow fell in Rochester, however most of those reports were submitted on Sunday and do not account for the additional snow that fell Sunday night into Monday morning. 

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Blowing Snow to Continue Monday Morning, Rochester Included in Winter Weather Advisory

Forecasters are predicting blowing and drifting snow to continue through the morning on Monday. 

The Blizzard Warning has been replaced by a Winter Weather Advisory.

“While new snow tapers off, strong gusts to 50 mph continue, with conditions improving only somewhat around sunrise, when blowing and drifting will continue until at least mid Morning,” the Winter Weather Advisory says. 

6th St. SW Closed Until Further Notice in Rochester.

The City of Rochester announced that 6th St. SW is closed until further notice between 8th and 10th Aves. Officials say vehicles traveling through the area have become stuck.

A news release issued by the City of Rochester Monday morning says full snow removal operations are continuing, however crews continue facing challenging conditions. 

Service for Rochester Public Transit is planned to resume at 10:00 Monday morning. City facilities are also scheduled to re-open for in-person services at 10 a.m. 

City officials say, “cleanup efforts in residential areas will take time.” Many of the streets in downtown Rochester are down to a single lane due to large snow piles in the middle of those streets. 

Crews are planning to begin removing the windrows Monday night but officials caution it will take time to remove them due to the amount of snow. Nightly parking restrictions in the downtown area will remain in place until the snow is removed, officials say. 

RPU Restores Power to 6500 Customers

Rochester Public Utilities crews were dispatched to a large power outage Sunday night. A post published shortly after 9:15 Sunday night on the utility provider’s Facebook page said approximately 6500 customers lost power. 

RPU reported the outage had been fixed about an hour later. Rochester Public Schools is among districts to have canceled classes on Monday. 

A full list of closures and real-time road conditions are available in the KROC News App.