Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Downtown business owners struggled to keep up with the snowfall Friday afternoon on Minnesota Street. A total of 6.2 inches of snow had fallen by 8 p.m., with more on the way.

NEW ULM — The blizzard warned of all week arrived Friday morning.

South Central Minnesota was under a winter storm warning for all of Friday, ending 6 a.m. Saturday.

The threat of the snow storm caused nearly all local schools to cancel in-person classes the night before.

The first few flakes began to fall around 10 a.m. By 11 a.m. it was a full storm. Heavy snow fell through the afternoon. According to the National Weather Service between eight and 12 inches of snow are expected to accumulate before the storm is over.

By early afternoon Friday, Highway 14 from Courtland to Sleepy Eye was completely covered. Highway 15 was also covered from Winthrop in the north to Truman in the south. Road conditions continued to deteriorate throughout the day.

The snow was forecast to end sometime after midnight Saturday.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) reported a crash, closed road and several vehicle spinouts late Friday afternoon as snow continued to fall in the area.

A crash was reported on U.S. Highway 212 near Hector, between 485th Street and 490th Street at 3:32 p.m. Friday. No further crash details were available.

Spinouts were reported on State Highway 4 between Brown County Roads 20 and 22, four miles south of Sleepy Eye, on State Highway 19 in Franklin, and on U.S. Highway 169 between Mankato and St. Peter and on Highway 169 near Le Sueur.

The highway department reported visibility at one-half mile or less and snow on most area highways including State Highway 15 from Winthrop to Truman, on State Highway 19 from Gaylord to Morton and on U.S. Highway 14 from Courtland west to the South Dakota State line. Slush was reported on State Highway 68 between Sleepy Eye and Morgan.

A Winter Storm Warning was issued by the National Weather Service from 9 a.m., Dec. 10 to 6 a.m., Dec. 11 with snow accumulation between 8 and 14 inches in parts of south central, central and southeast Minnesota. Counties in the warning area included Brown, Nicollet, Le Sueur, Rice, Goodhue, Watonwan, Blue Earth, Waseca, Steele, Martin, Faribault, and Freeborn.

Travel was described as very difficult to impossible during the warning period with patchy, blowing snow that could significantly reduce visibility.

Instructions for those that must travel included keeping an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

The latest Minnesota road conditions can be obtained by calling 511, visiting 511mn.org for Minnesota and 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.