The Latest: Flight delays shorten at Twin Cities airport

MINNEAPOLIS – The Latest on complications from winter storm conditions in Minnesota (all times local):

6:10 p.m.

Flight delays are getting shorter as winds decrease at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan says delays of at least 15 to 30 minutes were still common Monday evening. But that’s an improvement over earlier in the day, when Hogan says there were delays of up to a couple of hours.

Hogan says the airport is now operating two runways after being down to only one.

The Star Tribune reports more than 50 flights in and out of the Twin Cities had been cancelled as of noon Monday while nearly 250 had been delayed.

The National Weather Service reports wind speed was measured at 60 mph early Monday near Victoria in Carver County and near Clara City in Chippewa County.

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1:40 p.m.

Gusty winds are causing flight delays at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph were slowing operations at the airport. The Star Tribune reports airport officials say both incoming and departing flights were facing delays of up to an hour Monday, and just one runway was operating.

More than 50 flights in and out of the Twin Cities had been cancelled as of noon Monday while nearly 250 had been delayed.

National Weather Service meteorologist Shawn Devinny says winds were whipping a light band of snow moving along the Interstate 94 corridor in central Minnesota to create low visibility.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation says snow-covered and icy roads were making driving hazardous across northern Minnesota.

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8:35 a.m.

It’s a windy day across much of Minnesota.

The National Weather Service says winds will gust over 60 mph in southwestern Minnesota, while 50 mph gusts will be common over the rest of southern Minnesota into west-central Wisconsin. Gusts up to 66 mph were recorded overnight in Redwood Falls in southwestern Minnesota, and 50 mph in Bloomington in the Twin Cities area.

No travel is advised in far northwestern Minnesota.

The heavy rain on Christmas contributed to the wettest year on record in the Twin Cities, surpassing a mark that had stood for over a century. The weather service says nearly an inch of rain Sunday boosted total precipitation for the year to 40.27 inches, breaking the old record of 40.15 inches set in 1911.