It took the largest snowfall of the season to trigger the first snow emergencies of the winter in Minneapolis and St. Paul, meaning drivers will not only have to brush off their cars but brush up on parking rules.

Suburbs such as West St. Paul, Richfield, St. Louis Park, Robbinsdale and Crystal also called snow emergencies after 2 to 5 inches of snow fell across the metro area Sunday and Monday.

Even with traffic reduced because of the Martin Luther King holiday, driving on Monday morning was unpleasant: The State Patrol responded to 486 crashes statewide between midnight and 11 a.m. Two — in Thief River Falls and Eagan — had fatalities. Another 298 vehicles spun out or went off the road. Seven semitrailer trucks jackknifed, the patrol said.

Parking restrictions in Minneapolis began Monday night. No parking is allowed on either side of the street on snow emergency routes until 8 a.m. Tuesday or until the street has been plowed curb to curb.

On Tuesday, parking will be forbidden on the even side of non-snow emergency routes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until the even side is plowed. Parking is also prohibited on either side of parkways.

On Wednesday, drivers should not park on the odd side of non-snow emergency routes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until that side of the street is fully plowed.

In St. Paul, no parking is allowed on streets marked with signs that say "Night Plow Route" or "Night Plow Route This Side of Street" starting Monday night until the street is plowed curb to curb. All downtown St. Paul streets, even if not marked, are considered Night Plow Routes.

On Tuesday, St. Paul will tackle "Day Plow Routes," meaning all routes not covered by night plowing. Plowing begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

In both Minneapolis and St. Paul, violators will risk being ticketed and towed.

Snow totals ranged from 4.6 inches in Inver Grove Heights, 4.5 inches in Richfield and just southwest of downtown St. Paul, 4.2 inches in Victoria, 4 inches in Coon Rapids, 3.5 in Forest Lake and St. Louis Park, 3 inches in Prior Lake and 2 inches in Roseville, the National Weather Service said.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768