A major winter storm impacting 40+ states beginning Friday is set to bring snow and heavy rain through the weekend. The worst of the impacts are expected to be in the Upper Midwest and the Plains.

Moderate to heavy snow will spread across SE MN and NE IA overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Snow will continue on Saturday with heavy snowfall rates at times.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties for Thursday and Friday. Significant snowfall is likely.

Some areas of the state could see nearly 3 feet of snow with this winter storm. But it's the high wind gusts blowing all that snow around that are going to cause a problem on our roads.

As of Tuesday morning, some of the season’s first winter storm warnings covered portions of South Dakota, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where moderate-to-heavy snow will develop into Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of people face dangerous travel conditions this week amid heavy snow and a winter storm.

The metro is in line for 1 to 3 inches Tuesday night into Wednesday; up to 4 inches further north, the National Weather Service said.

Winter weather could be on its way on Thanksgiving, with winter storm watches being issued for Erie, Crawford, Warren and Chautauqua Counties starting Wednesday evening and the early hours of Thursday morning.