Easter surprise

Just when it was starting to feel — and look — like spring, Mother Nature came roaring in with a double Easter weekend snowstorms that brought a foot of snow to Columbus.
Stillwater County awoke to snow last Saturday, with Columbus getting 4.6 inches officially, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Sunday brought a brief reprieve, which ended Monday with an additional 7.2 inches, plus another 3.2 inches Tuesday, according to the NWS.
That pushed the winter’s already record snowfall to 8.37 feet in Columbus.
With the snow came a dramatic drop in temperature. According to the NWS, Friday’s high was 63 degrees and the low fell to just 11 degrees. Sunday’s high was 21 degrees and by Tuesday, the mercury had fallen to 3 below zero.
Chaos on the roadways corresponded, with at least 13 crashes on I-90 Monday, according to the Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office dispatch records.
The double storms brought 24 inches of new snowfall to Mystic Lake and 18.5 inches to Rapelje.
Mystic Lake’s winter snowfall total now stands at 23 feet, while Rapelje’s is 11.54 feet, according to the NWS.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ISSUED
On Wednesday morning, the NWS issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the region in effect from April 5 at noon until April 6 at noon, calling for the possibility of yet more snow. Three to six inches is expected, with as much as 11 inches forecast for some areas.