Freeborn-Mower Electric Coop. to help restore power in northern Minn. from winter storm

(ABC 6 News) – Crews from Freeborn-Mower Electric Cooperative left Friday to travel to northern Minnesota to help restore power from this week’s winter storm.

The National Weather Service Duluth says as much as 18-30″ of snow has fallen across the Northland over the last 3 days. The heavy, wet snow has snapped tree limbs causing them to fall on power lines leaving thousands of residents without power.

What a storm! While there is still some accumulation on the way our true Winter Storm is coming to a close. Here's a look at a 3 Day Snowfall Analysis. A big thanks to all for their reports! #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/JOFlsQgn9t

— NWS Duluth (@NWSduluth) December 16, 2022

As of Friday afternoon, Finland, Minn. has topped the list with 29″ of snow reported while the 22.7″ at the Duluth Weather Service office was the 8th largest two-day snowstorm on record.

Many schools, including the Duluth Public School District, opted to cancel classes on Friday for the third straight day.

According to PowerOutage.us, as of 12:00 p.m. on Friday, more than 27,000 customers across northern Minnesota are without power.

The majority of the outages are in Crow Wing, Carlton, Pine, Aitkin, Cass, Itasca, and St. Louis counties.

The main power companies serving the area – including Minnesota Power, East Central Energy and Lake Country Power – have all been busy working to get the lights back on and have brought in extra help to fix the widespread damage.