New forecast calling for 10-14" in north metro, 4-7" in south

The season's first snowstorm, expected to begin in the wee hours Monday, promises to bring heavy accumulations by the end of the day.

While morning commuters may encounter only an inch or so, by afternoon 6 to 10 inches could be fouling travel, said the National Weather Service.

"This is one of the those snow bands that will be split north and south of the metro," said meteorologist Paul Douglas, whose column runs in Star Tribune. "The northern suburbs can get 8 to 10 inches and the southern metro 3 to 5 inches," he said. "The area from Rochester to Red Wing may only see freezing rain."

And the heavy snow will be followed by an extended bout of midwinter-type lows for the rest of the week, with Tuesday dropping to just 9 degrees.

The latest winter storm warning for most of central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin begins early ­Monday and lasts for hours. "The snow will be most intense during the early afternoon Monday, with 1- to 2-inch-per-hour snowfall rates," the weather service predicted.

Northeast winds gusting to 25 miles per hour could cause drifting and blowing snow.

The entire Twin Cities area is covered by the warning, which begins about 3 a.m. Monday.

Getting 7.7 inches or more Monday will put this storm in the top 10 for single-day snowfalls in the metro for November, said Douglas.

Despite the prediction of substantial snow, the Minneapolis School District posted on its website that it "does not anticipate canceling school. In the event that school is canceled, we will notify families as soon as possible."

Minnesota's neighbors to the east appear in line for even deeper snow depths, the NWS said, with 8 to 16 inches falling in northern and central Wisconsin starting Monday morning and persisting until Tuesday evening.

Delta Air Lines is allowing travelers to reschedule Monday flights through Green Bay, as well as for Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester.

Minnesotans spent the weekend bracing for the season's first winter weather with trips to their neighborhood hardware stores to buy both lawn bags and snowblowers.

Douglas said that even with snow totals near a foot predicted in some areas, he's not worried about the long-range winter forecast. "I'm still not convinced this means a rerun of last winter," he said.

Along with relearning how to drive in the snow and remembering to bend at the knees when shoveling, vehicle owners in the Twin Cities will need to reacquaint themselves with the parking rules during a snow emergency.

The do's and don'ts for Minneapolis can be found at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow. The rules for St. Paul are at www.stpaul.gov/snow.

Staff writer John Ewoldt and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482