Dozens of Minnesota school districts sent students home early on Tuesday, and travel conditions deteriorated through the afternoon and evening, as a winter storm brought heavy snow, freezing rain and howling winds to the state.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported icy roads across most of the state late Tuesday afternoon — including the Twin Cities, where a burst of heavy snow arrived just in time to snarl the afternoon commute.

To the northwest, the State Patrol was responding to crashes and several jackknifed semis along Interstate 94 in central and western Minnesota.

And across the state, the snow was more welcome news for skiers, snowmobilers and others who love to get outdoors in the winter — and who’ve had to cope with often unseasonably mild, below-average-snowfall

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