Two weeks ago, when Mayor Bloomberg held up a groundhog at the Bronx Zoo and declared that spring was around the corner, it looked like the $26 million he set aside for the city’s snow removal efforts would be enough. Since then, however, two enormous storms have socked New York City, and in advance of the mess and inconvenience of nearly a foot of snow predicted in the latest wintry blast, the mayor said yesterday the city’s snow budget has been busted.

“You should know that since this is the third storm in a week or so, we’ve already had 12 inches of snow since Presidents Day last Monday, 32 inches of snow to date this weekend,” the mayor told reporters at an education event in East Harlem yesterday.

Using the rule of thumb that the city’s snow removal costs $1 million an inch, Mr. Bloomberg estimated that the Sanitation Department would have to spend at least $10 million more than anticipated before all the season’s snow has been cleared.

Yesterday’s storm began to accumulate late enough in the day that minimal problems were reported during last night’s commute. This morning, however, shaped up as a different story. With snow forecast to taper off by about 1 a.m. and a total of 5 to 7 inches expected, the Department of Sanitation would work overtime to clear the streets in time for the morning rush, officials said.

“It depends on how the snow goes, but we’re hopeful that we’ll have the primary roads and highways under control for tomorrow’s morning commute,” a department spokesman, Keith Mellis, told The New York Sun last night. “We advise everyone to use mass transit, but, if you have to drive in, yield to sanitation crews.”

Snow-clearing crews were expected to work throughout the morning, and the department said it was ready to keep plows on the streets throughout the day if snow showers continued as predicted. Forecasters said it would be cold today, with highs in the lower 30s. All told, the department dispatched 1,400 plows and 350 spreaders and had 175,000 tons of salt on hand to clear city streets, officials said. Plows are run once the accumulation reaches two inches. Workers also were scheduled to put in 12-hour shifts.

Last night’s storm forced the city to call off after-school activities and to postpone its annual survey of the homeless population. This year’s count marks the first time the Department of Homeless Services is surveying the entire city, rather than just Manhattan. At least 2,000 volunteers planned to hit the streets to do a five-borough count.

The census of the city’s homeless has been rescheduled for next Monday.

The speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike was reduced last night to 45 mph for the length of the roadway, a turnpike spokesman, Joe Orlando, told the Associated Press last night. Plows had spread salt by late afternoon but had not started plowing by early evening because not enough snow had accumulated, Mr. Orlando said.

At Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, and Kennedy airports, arriving flights were delayed by about three hours, although departing flights were said to be leaving on time.

Mr. Bloomberg said the late-winter storm might bust the budget but the city would find the money to keep the streets clear somehow. “So when you want to wish for a merry white Christmas, just remember it doesn’t help the city, at least not the city’s budget,” he said.

Mr. Mellis, the sanitation spokesman, said, “It was a light winter to start, it started with a little snow, but Mother Nature is making up for it with these back-to-back storms,” he said. “Right now we’re focused on the job at hand. Our job is to clear the streets. We’ll deal with getting the money later.”