Grim reminder of pandemic's toll: Record 35 new deaths

Ready for more snow? It’ll be mostly cloudy tonight, with lows in the mid-20s and lower 30s. Tomorrow will be cloudy, again with that big snow, and some freezing rain possible on the southern edge of the storm. Highs will be in the 30s.

Deaths due to COVID-19 unexpectedly surged today, matching the state’s all time high for a single day’s death toll, first set back in May.

The state reports 35 new deaths in its latest data. That’s more than double the seven-day rolling average for daily deaths. Nearly 1,100 newly reported cases Wednesday continued an October of new case counts averaging more than 1,000 a day. New hospitalizations reported in the latest data also topped 100 for just the third time in the pandemic, but for the second day in a row.

Yesterday’s storm set snowfall records around the region. The National Weather Service says they include 7.9 inches of snow at the Twin Cities international airport. Our chief meteorologist Paul Huttner says another storm is on its way tomorrow, across central Minnesota and up the north shore. Forecast models say up to 8 inches of snow may fall from Fargo, through Alexandria, Brainerd, Grand Rapids and Virginia on the Iron Range.