BROWN COUNTY — Weather in much of Minnesota went from one extreme to the other Dec. 4.

The Twin Cities broke a 76-year-old weather record high Monday when the temperature rose to 57 degrees at noon, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The old record was 56 degrees in 1941.

New Ulm’s high temperature Monday was 54 degrees, 50 in Sleepy Eye. Then temperatures plunged in the afternoon, sinking to below 20 degrees as rain, sleet and snow fell sideways in a driving wind that put wind chills around zero degrees.

An inch of snow was reported at New Ulm.

The National Weather Service put out weather warnings but the storm got the best of hundreds of motorists. The Minnesota State Patrol reported 121 crashes and 60 vehicle spinouts statewide from 8 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Ten of the crashes involved injuries. One crash was fatal. An 87-year-old Murdock man died in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 12 in Benson.

A number of area state and federal highways were closed during whiteout conditions including Highway 14 from New Ulm to Sleepy Eye and Highway 4 north of Sleepy Eye. A number of motorists slid off the road, after reporting poor visibility and very slippery conditions.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office responded to stalled vehicles at Highway 14 and Garden Street at 3:41 p.m., Highway 4 and CR 29 at 7:20 p.m., CR 29 and 245th Avenue in Home Township at 7:56 p.m., 21812 Highway 15 South, just south of New Ulm, and at Highway 14 and CR 8, west of Sleepy Eye, at 10:31 p.m.

New Ulm Police responded to a stalled vehicle at Highway 14 and CR 12, just west of New Ulm, at 9:03 p.m.

Sleepy Eye Police responded to a stalled vehicle at 28443 Highway 14, just west of the “s” curve west of Sleepy Eye, at 8:23 p.m.

By late Tuesday afternoon, most area highways remained partially covered with ice. Crashes were reported on Highways 14, 169 and 99 near Mankato. Highway 68 between Wabasso and Highway 19 north of Milroy was reported to be completely covered with ice as of Tuesday morning.

Windy and partly cloudy conditions are forecast for Dec. 6, mostly sunny conditions Dec. 7 with highs in the upper 20s and lows under 20 degrees through Saturday. The temperature was forecast to hit 43 degrees with mostly sunny conditions on Sunday, according to the NWS. No measurable precipitation was forecast over the 10-day forecast period.

For more information, visit www.511mn.org/.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.