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Minnesota Department of Transportation

Minnesota Department of Transportation

State Transportation Agency

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Bomb cyclone forces National Guard deployment as holiday travel collapses

Force in Play

Extended no-travel advisory for I-90 through Monday due to ongoing whiteout conditions

A rapidly intensifying winter storm—a bomb cyclone with pressure plunging to 975 millibars—slammed the Midwest during the year's busiest travel weekend. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency December 28 and deployed the National Guard the next day after Freeborn County's sheriff requested military help to rescue motorists stranded on whiteout highways. Interstate 90 closed and remained under no-travel advisory through Monday morning. So did I-35. Over 10,000 flights delayed nationwide Sunday, with disruptions continuing Monday (800+ delays, 300+ cancellations). At least one person dead in Iowa, and Minnesota State Patrol logged nearly 400 crashes between Sunday midnight and Monday morning—29 with injuries.

Updated Dec 29, 2025