Travel advisory lifted on I-35; wind chill warning in effect until noon

Published 6:00 am Friday, February 8, 2019

The Minnesota Department of Transportation lifted its no travel advisory on Interstate 35 from the Iowa border to Faribault late Thursday night, though the highway on Friday morning was still listed as covered in ice and blowing snow.

The advisory on I-35 was in place for approximately four hours because of icy conditions and blowing snow that limited visibility.

As of 7 a.m., roads were continuing to improve.

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All of the area schools announced Thursday night they would start school two hours late on Friday.

Albert Lea is no longer under a blizzard warning, but remains under a wind chill warning until noon with wind chills as low as 40 below zero expected. According to the National Weather Service, the dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Temperatures are expected to be sunny and cold Friday with a high near 3 below zero. Friday night, temperatures will dip to 16 below.

Saturday will see increasing clouds, though no precipitation is forecasted. More snow is expected on Sunday.

The weather agency stated Albert Lea had received 3 inches of new snow from the storm Thursday, as of 6:30 p.m.

The snow and blizzard conditions led to about 30 crashes in the area, including one at 2:54 p.m. when a southbound International semi lost control south of the Interstate 90 interchange and rolled over in the median.

Both the semi’s driver, Jay Leon Valentine, 40, of Mineola, and its passenger, Angeline Marie Kridler, 49, of Phoenix, were injured.

Kridler was taken to Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea for injuries deemed not life-threatening.