Another round of wind and snow blasted the Bonanza Valley area in central Minnesota on Thursday, February 7. At least five inches of snow fell on Thursday morning and early afternoon. By mid-afternoon on Thursday, winds surpassed 20 mph to create hazardous and life-threatening driving conditions.

Also, on Thursday night just shy of 19:00, MN-DOT closed state and federal highways in multiple western Minnesota counties. This included Pope County. Further announcements on these closures will be posted on Friday morning, and this web article will be updated to reflect that.

*School-announcement: Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa schools will start three hours late on Friday, February 8. Stay tuned for updates. Also, as always, a whole host of sports-related announcements is posted at the newspaper's Jaguars Sports blog: http://bbejaguars.blogspot.com.

*Update at 05:27 on Friday: MN-DOT has re-opened state and federal highways in western Minnesota, including those in Pope County. Even though state and federal roads are passable, that does not mean county, township and municipal road are going to be in the same condition. Travel could still be difficult on county, township and municipal roads. MN-DOT provided the media the following driving tips to share with the public. Motorists should:

*Check road conditions at http://www.511mn.org or call 511; it takes time to get roads back to good driving conditions.

*Be patient and remember snowplows are working to improve road conditions for their trip.

*Stay back at least 10 car lengths behind the plow, far from the snow cloud.

*Stay alert for snowplows that turn or exit frequently and often with little warning. Plows may also travel over center lines or partially in traffic to further improve road conditions.

*Slow down to a safe speed for current conditions. Snowplows typically move at slower speeds.