Ready or not, winter has returned. With ferocity.

Obviously, we’re being punished. “It” is back, and probably in a big way. Paul Douglas says, “A total of 1.18″ … by midday Tuesday, all of it falling as snow. No mix, no changeover to ice or rain to keep snowfall amounts down. But that’s less (liquid) moisture falling than Sunday’s 00z run, which was closer to 1.5″ Could the storm still take a more northerly track, pushing the heaviest snow bands into St. Cloud? Absolutely. But as of now I think 6-12″ of snow in a good range across the metro from Monday into midday Tuesday. Then it’s going to get abnormally cold. Other than that, not much to talk about today.”

At MPR, Paul Huttner says: “#Snowmageddon. #Snowpocalypse. #Snowvember. Take your pick of high impact weather hashtags.  All indications point to a blockbuster, and potentially record setting November snow blitz across a big chunk of Minnesota Monday. I’ve been following multiple model runs from many different sources for several days now. Sunday’s AM & midday model runs seem to confirm a major, potentially debilitating heavy snowfall event across central Minnesota, likely including the Twin Cities metro. The only remaining question seems to be if the heaviest snow bands will set up north of the metro, or favor locations including the north metro.” There’s also 20-30 mph winds and there is … sub-zero talk.

Says The Weather Channel, “Interstates that may become snow-covered and slippery Monday morning include stretches of I-90, I-94, I-35 and I-29 in parts of Minnesota, the Dakotas, northern Wyoming and Montana. Some blowing snow may reduce visibility, particularly in rural areas. Road conditions may worsen rapidly in the Twin Cities metro area as heavy snow moves in during the morning rush hour. The Monday afternoon/evening commute may become difficult in parts of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, southern Minnesota and South Dakota, in particular, due to falling and accumulated snow. Some blowing snow may reduce visibility. Flight delays are possible at Minneapolis/St. Paul and Denver (snow), as well as Chicago O’Hare & Midway (low clouds near the warm front).”

So here’s hoping the crops are in, even if they aren’t worth much. Mark Steil at MPR reports, “A big U.S. harvest has pushed soybean and corn prices lower. As a result, the economic future for Minnesota farmers is cloudy. Contrary to the national trend, Minnesota yields were below expectations in some parts of the state. But with low grain prices, farmers are already thinking about how they can cut costs for next year. Unless things improve, many Minnesota farmers will lose money on their crops.”

Now the whispering says the Vikings are conflicted whether they even want Adrian Peterson back. At CBS Sports, Jason La Canfora writes, “The Vikings harbor some serious concerns about Adrian Peterson’s physical and mental state following his prolonged layoff while facing felony child abuse charges, and there are no guarantees at this point that they would welcome him back if reinstated, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. … Peterson has also seemed aloof and immature in the face of such serious charges, sources said, not seeming to grasp the magnitude of the situation, and there is a fear within the team of further backlash if they bring him back.”

Protestors were out (again), trying to save the wolves. Iris Perez at KMSP-TV says, “The first weekend of wolf hunting season in Minnesota was met with a pack of protesters. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources estimated more than 2,400 wolves lived in the state last winter. This year, the DNR will allow 250 of them to be killed, which is 30 more than last year, however, it’s the ‘indiscriminate’ killing of wolves that don’t eat livestock that are causing concerns among wolf advocates.”

I’m guessing they didn’t steal it for its speed. Says Paul Walsh in the Strib, “A 15-year-old boy driving a stolen school bus with a buddy along collided with a new pickup truck on a northwestern Minnesota highway before dawn Sunday, leaving three people injured, authorities said. … Both drivers were injured, as was another boy on the small bus, which belongs to the Circle of Life Academy in White Earth, more than 25 miles from the crash scene, the patrol said.”

Lucky kid. Nathan Wells at SB Nation writes about a U of M hockey player who took a nasty slapshot to the head. “Sophomore Vinni Lettieri left Sunday’s game against Notre Dame in the second period after blocking a slap shot with his helmet. The shot, which came while Minnesota was killing its second consecutive penalty, left Lettieri momentarily motionless on the ice. He was eventually able to skate off the ice with the help of his teammates. As expected when dealing with head injuries, he was not on the bench for the third period and won’t return, per a Gophers spokesman.” Good thing for that helmet, no kid wants to look like Gump Worsley.

Maybe they can get back the $400,000 they dropped on that anti-gay DVD. Bill Catlin at MPR writes, “The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is planning a 20 percent budget cut and layoffs in its central office. A statement on the archdiocese website states that centralization of services in recent years led to unsustainable growth in spending, and that its budget is unsustainable regardless of unexpected legal and outside professional fees.”