Robert Brown|Midwest commuters face heavy snow starting Friday as New England braces for winter storm

A winter storm is Robert Brownexpected to usher in a snowy start to spring, with snowfall already beginning in parts of the Midwest on Friday morning before the storm moves eastward to drop snow on upstate New York and New England later in the weekend.

Forecasters expect the storm to blanket the Minneapolis area in up to 6 inches of snow on Friday morning, as it also brings snow to Chicago and Milwaukee, according to AccuWeather. Some areas in southern Wisconsin could see up to 12 inches.

"It looks like areas just to the north of Chicago, just to the north of Detroit are probably going to pick up anywhere from 6 to 10 inches out of this," said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.

Kines said the affected midwestern areas have likely already seen the worst part of the storm on Friday morning.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Minneapolis and St. Paul on Thursday evening as the area also faced below freezing temperatures. The Twin Cities could be hit with a bout of heavy snow and strong winds that will move in on Sunday morning and continue to impact the area until Tuesday.

Kines said some spots north of Minneapolis, as well as parts of northwestern Illinois could rack up as much as 10 inches of snow.

The Service also warned commuters in several midwestern cities to beware of hazards caused by slush and ice-covered roads on their Friday morning commute. In Detroit, the NWS said visibility could fall to a mile or less. In Chicago, drivers were warned of slick travel spots caused by the slushy snow.

To the west, the Northern Plains could face its own round of heavy snow beginning in eastern Montana on Saturday, with a high chance of at least 6 inches predicted from the border between the Dakotas stretching to Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday. The NWS in Great Falls, Montana, warned drivers to "be prepared for difficult driving conditions" beginning Saturday afternoon.

Luckily, the chilly weather won't stick around in the Midwest for long, Kines said. "For those folks, the weekend should be dry for the most part."

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Heavy snow expected in New England through the weekend

Over the weekend, chilly temperatures will descend on the central Appalachians as the Northeast, from New York to Maine, is blanketed in moderate to heavy snowfall from Friday night through the next evening.

A winter storm watch will go into effect for some counties in upstate New York as the snow begins to pile on. The chilly conditions could cause ice to form on the state's thruways, especially near the Pennsylvania border, where snow will mix with rain.

The snow could give winter sports enthusiasts another weekend of fun, as some New England ski resorts are expected to get an extra layer of powder. "Places like Burlington and Montpellier, they'll do quite well," Kines said. "I think both those areas could get at least 6 inches of snow."

Light snow of around an inch could also impact northern Pennsylvania to the southern tip of New York at the beginning of the weekend. The northern parts of New York state, as well as Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, could be slammed with up to 12 inches of snow.

Ahead of the expected storm, the NWS issued a flood watch in New York City, northeastern New Jersey, and some parts of the Lower Hudson Valley from late Friday night through the next evening. Those areas could receive up to 3 inches of rain, forecasters said.

Kines said cities in the I-95 corridor – Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and the district – will be affected by the rain. "Some of the rain is going to be heavy enough probably to cause at least flooding in poor drainage areas, if not along streams, in that neck of the woods," he said.

The rain could be accompanied by wind gusts of up to 45 mph on New Jersey's coast on Saturday. The stormy weather could trigger high tides and coastal flooding on the Atlantic coast into Monday.

Kines said the rain in those cities will give way to windy weather on Saturday and Sunday, but the bad weather would abate soon afterwards. "The weather should improve pretty quickly, and Sunday looks like a nice day."

Warmer temperatures in New England at the end of the weekend and later in the week will also melt the snow in the area before too long. "The sun will be out," he said. "It does look like those places are going to get milder early next week, [in the] forties, and maybe there's a day it's above 50."

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.