Drivers in Minnesota learned a hard winter lesson this weekend when thousands of cars were towed after a snow emergency was declared.

Minneapolis spokesman Matt Laible told the Downtown Journal that 1,800 cars were towed to impound lots in order to make room for snowplows as the city was buried in snow following a three-day snow emergency.

Laible told the website that 862 vehicles were towed on Saturday, the first day of the Snow Emergency, with another 951 vehicles towed Sunday. It is expected that the final tally will exceed the 1,800 mark.

ABC affiliate KSTP says another 1,200 vehicles were towed in neighboring St. Paul, Minnesota causing residents of both cities to pay up to $200 to have their cars removed, which is hitting cash-strapped motorists hard.

“I don’t have a cell phone. I can’t afford that type of thing – just nuts and bolts right now,” Joel Wenz, one of the people waiting at the impound lot told KSTP.

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