A second snowstorm in less than a week dumped at least 5 inches of snow on the Albert Lea area Wednesday and Thursday, leading to havoc for some drivers.

Multiple reports of vehicles that either crashed or went into ditches, including at least two school buses, were reported to the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office and Albert Lea Police Department in the 24-hour span. No major injuries were reported.

New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Superintendent Kevin Wellen confirmed that a school bus got stuck in a ditch north of Clarks Grove early Thursday.

“The road wasn’t clear,” Wellen said. “The bus is fine and the kids got to school.”

Other buses came to get the kids and take them to school, though they were late. He said he guessed it happened around 7:20 a.m.

A tow truck was called and the bus was driveable after it was out of the ditch.

Another school bus south of Alden, near Mansfield, went into the ditch around 7:20 a.m. Thursday. Alden-Conger Superintendent Joe Guanella said the roads were not cleared and it was tough for the drivers to see the roads.

He said the students were fine and the bus is driveable. He said most buses were late Thursday because drivers had to go slowly.

Schools in the area dismissed either one or two hours early Thursday because of the inclement weather conditions.

Albert Lea Area Schools, St. Theodore Catholic School and Hollandale Christian School closed one hour early. Alden-Conger Schools and New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Schools closed at 1:30 p.m., and United South Central Schools closed at 1 p.m.

The National Weather Service states Albert Lea got 3 1/2 inches of snow overnight Wednesday, with the city receiving another 1 1/2 to 2 inches during the day Thursday.

This is in addition to the 7 1/2 inches Albert Lea received over the weekend after a blizzard gripped the area.

The Weather Service stated Ellendale had received 4 1/2 inches of snow as of 6:37 a.m. Thursday, and Wells had received 4 as of 8 a.m.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, The Minnesota Department of Transportation stated there were difficult road conditions for most of the major highways in Freeborn County. State Highway 13 was listed as having difficult conditions from Albert Lea to New Richland, but improved to fair conditions north of New Richland.

Interstate 35 from the Iowa border continuing past Owatonna was also listed as having difficult road conditions, as was U.S. Highway 69 and Interstate 90 starting at Alden and going east. I-90 west of Alden was listed as fair.

All of these roads were listed in fair condition as of press time, with MnDOT advising motorists to look out for icy patches.

According to the National Weather Service, today was expected to be mostly sunny with a high near 11. Wind chill values were projected to be between -2 and -9.

Saturday and Sunday are expected to be mostly cloudy, with flurries possible on Saturday. Temperatures will remain steady with a high near 11 for Saturday and a high near 13 for Sunday.

There is a 60 percent chance of more snow on Monday with a high of 21 projected.