Don't put away that snow shovel and ice scraper just yet.

Between 2 inches and a foot of white stuff is expected to fall between today and Friday in Porter and LaPorte counties.

Casey Sullivan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, Ill., said snow showers could start as early as 6 a.m. today.

Sullivan is forecasting 1 to 2 inches around most of Porter County, but some will see up to 6 inches of snow by the time it tapers off early Friday morning. LaPorte County is under a lake-effect snow watch from 6 a.m. today through 6 p.m. Friday, and between 2 and 4 inches are expected to fall. But with the unpredictable nature of lake-effect snow, up to a foot could be dumped in some areas, Sullivan said.

Sullivan said northeast Porter County and LaPorte County have "a bulls-eye" on them in terms of where the heaviest snow will fall.

While local residents are getting ready for a second round, Portage Mayor Olga Velazquez is asking residents to be patient as they traverse the city.

The early -- and heavy -- snowfall that hit overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning struck the city as street department workers still were in leaf pickup operations.

Normally, said Velazquez, the department has 10 trucks equipped to tackle the snow with plows, but the city wasn't running that many when the snow hit because several of the trucks still were equipped with leaf vacuum equipment and had not been switched over.

"We were in transition," she said.

The lack of salt also is an issue in the city. Earlier this year, the city was able to purchase 5,000 tons of road salt, only one-third of what it wanted to purchase. The price of that salt jumped from $35 a ton last year to $50.95 per ton in August.

Velazquez said the city recently got a call from a supplier offering to sell the city additional salt for $160 per ton.

"That's outrageous. It seems like price gouging. The city is not in the position to pay $160 per ton," she said, adding the city is dealing with budget constraints due to property tax caps and other issues.

"People are going to have to be patient and drive according to the conditions of the roads," she said.

Lake County Highway Superintendent Marc Malczewski said Monday night's snow wasn't a big event except for the southern part of Lake County near Winfield.

About six trucks went out to plow and spread sand and salt about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and finished about noon.

He said the snow didn't catch the department off guard because the drivers of the county's 36 snow routes are on call 24 hours a day.

The region's first snowstorm closed Interstate 94 in Porter and LaPorte counties for several hours as police and wreckers cleared dozens of slide-off accidents.

Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Joshua Bingham said those accidents were caused by drivers forgetting how to drive on icy roads. Bingham said all the state's snowplows were out Monday night, but the magnitude of the storm created icy roads faster than plows could clear them.

He encouraged people to drive more slowly in ice and snow.