Photo by Deb Gau Christian Becker clears snow from the sidewalk in front of his office on Main Street on Tuesday morning.

MARSHALL — Another winter storm closed schools and halted travel in southwest Minnesota and eastern South Dakota on Tuesday.

With a forecasted 10 to 14 inches of snow accumulation in the area, Lyon County cities, including Marshall, all declared snow emergencies.

According to measurements taken by the Independent, 6.5 inches of snow had fallen in Marshall by 4 p.m. Tuesday. More snow was forecast Tuesday evening into today, the National Weather Service reported.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said no travel was advised in Lyon County and surrounding counties Tuesday due to blowing snow and low visibility. In some areas, visibility was down to one-10th of a mile or less. Over the course of the day, MnDOT’s travel conditions website showed many reports of vehicles spun out, crashed or even stalled on the road on state highways in the region. No-travel advisories were also in effect in eastern South Dakota on Tuesday.

Area residents found ways to deal with the snow on Tuesday. Christian Becker said he planned ahead. Instead of risking the commute between his home in Minneota and his office in Marshall, he was staying in Marshall until conditions were better.

“That’s how the weather has been,” Becker said.

There haven’t been any small snowstorms, only extreme ones, he said.

Becker was one of the few people out on Main Street on Tuesday morning as he shoveled the sidewalk in front of his office.

The city of Marshall is under a snow removal emergency until Friday at noon, the city announced. Residents are asked to get parked vehicles off of street areas, to allow snow removal crews to work. Vehicles still on the street during a snow emergency may be ticketed and towed.

The cities of Balaton, Cottonwood, Minneota and Tracy have all issued snow emergencies. Balaton’s emergency is in effect through today; Cottonwood’s is in effect until noon Thursday, and Tracy’s is also effect until Thursday evening. Minneota’s snow emergency is in effect until further notice.

The snowstorm also had an impact on area schools, which closed down or had online learning days Tuesday. Marshall Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Williams said Tuesday was Marshall’s fifth e-learning day this school year. The state only allows school districts to count five e-learning days as instructional days, he said. After that point, MPS may need to start adding make-up days to its calendar.

Williams said he discussed next steps for the school district on Tuesday. MPS does have some days built into its calendar for potential make-up days, including dates in February and April. The district could also add days at the end of the planned school year, he said.

“Student safety is really our number one concern,” Williams said. If it was dangerous to transport students to school, MPS would not hold class.

Marshall could see an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow by today, said meteorologist Jeff Chapman of the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls. While winds would not be as high as they were in the last blizzard to hit the region, the Marshall area could see gusts in the 25 to 30 mile-per-hour range blowing snow around, Chapman said.

“We’re not out of the woods in regards to winter weather yet,” he said.