BLOOMINGTON - November took its leave by slapping the Twin Cities with a cold, wet snowstorm, depositing around 4 to 6 inches of snow in the area by Sunday morning. | Monday school closings

The final accumulation was expected to rise overnight as Central Illinois continued to be under a winter weather advisory, which will be in effect until noon Monday. The advisory warns about periods of light to moderate snow.

Meteorologist Patrick Bak of the National Weather Service's Lincoln office said that much of the area, including McLean, Woodford and Dewitt counties, received a measurable accumulation of snow while almost nothing fell in other locations, such as Lincoln.

Bak said that in Central Illinois, McLean County was reported to receive the most snow, about 6 inches in Bloomington-Normal and LeRoy.

Parts of Tazewell and Woodford County received around 5 to 5 1/2 inches, Bak said.

Snow in the Twin Cities started falling around 1 a.m. with the heaviest period occurring between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. It began tapering off around noon.

"This is not unusual for this time of year when we get involved in an active winter storm track," Bak said. "We do usually end up with some accumulation around this time."

Because of the weather patterns seen Sunday night, an additional 1 or 2 inches of snow was expected to accumulate overnight and into Monday.

Heavy winds of around 20 mph may make driving hazardous Monday, but Bak said that much of the snow, which was expected to still be wet from melting Sunday, should not pose a major problem.

"It's not a bad idea to limit travel and people should make sure that they take extra precautions with travel time and keep a blanket and safety kit in their car," Bak said.

According to the National Weather Service Web site, a 70 percent chance of snow is expected through Monday. High temperatures should reach 32 degrees, while Tuesday and Wednesday should warm up a bit with a high of 38 degrees. There will be a 40 percent chance of rain or snow on Wednesday. By Thursday, temperatures are expected to be colder, with a high of 28 degrees.

City workers had an early morning Sunday as most were out plowing by 4 a.m. Because of the winter storm warning, Normal had a parking ban on city streets until 7 a.m. Monday to make plowing easier, said Mike Hall, Normal director of public works.

"We were on the street by 4 a.m. applying road salt until 7 a.m. … and we have been out since helping residential streets," Hall said Sunday afternoon.

Bloomington Director of Public Works Jim Karch said that Bloomington workers have not been salting and no parking ban is in effect. He said city workers had also been out in the early morning hours Sunday plowing the streets.

"Right now we are working on residential areas, and we will stay on top of it tomorrow morning," Karch said Sunday.

A new online system is being used to help residents learn more about the plowing process. It can be accessed on the city's Web site: www.cityblm.org. People just need to click on the snow response notification section on the top of the page to see weather events, plowing services and what areas are being worked on or have been completed.

"We really do encourage all citizens to look at it … and so far people love it," Karch said.

Julie Runyon, charge nurse of the emergency department at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington, said she had not seen any weather-related accidents by Sunday afternoon, but she encouraged people to be cautious because of the weather.

"It just depends, as sometimes the weather sneaks up on them and they panic if they have to go to work," she said. "(If someone falls on the ice) and can't get up, then they should seek medical attention immediately."