The Lehigh Valley region is under a winter storm warning midnight Friday through 10 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said Friday afternoon.
With a blizzard warning just to the south, the Lehigh Valley was primed Friday for its share of the major winter storm set to cross the region through Sunday.
Projected snowfall totals crept up throughout the day as the storm track muscled to the north, according to the National Weather Service's Philadelphia region forecast office at Mount Holly, New Jersey.
#Winterstorm is trending a bit north. Snowfall totals raised a little Philadelphia to NYC to coastal New England pic.twitter.com/aFIory1TIk
-- NWS Eastern Region (@NWSEastern) January 22, 2016
The weather service on Friday afternoon issued a winter storm warning in effect from midnight through 10 a.m. Sunday. It applies to a region encompassing Lehigh, Northampton and Warren counties.
WATCH: Snowstorm this weekend? Lehigh Valley bars are ready
The blizzard warning, in effect for the same time frame, applied from Upper Bucks County into Hunterdon County.
"A blizzard warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected," the weather service said. "Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous."
Our supercomputers @NASA_NCCS crunched the data to show the cloud flow of #Blizzard2016: https://t.co/W7NwdBQbbn https://t.co/qHL3pp7Vgk
-- NASA (@NASA) January 22, 2016
The weather service advised against traveling during the storm "unless absolutely necessary," and to pack a winter survival kit: "If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle."
Snowfall accumulations are forecast at 18 to 24 inches across the blizzard-warning region.
Weekend winter storm: Live updates on snow emergencies, cancellations
Generated at 2:40 p.m. EST Jan. 22, 2016, this National Weather Service snowfall-projection map covering eastern Pennsylvania and much of New Jersey shows the Lehigh Valley in the range of 8 to 18 inches, with higher amounts toward the south, through 7 a.m. Jan. 24, 2016. (Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com) The Lehigh Valley's winter storm warning calls for 8 to 12 inches of snow, beginning late Friday night and continuing overnight and, heavy at times, Saturday before tapering off by early Sunday morning.
"Snow will stick to some wires and trees, which could cause some power outages, especially when combined with gusty winds," the winter storm warning reads, foretelling winds from the north of 15 to 25 mph and gusts up to 35 mph blowing snow around and reducing visibility. Temperatures are forecast in the lower 20s at night and upper 20s during the day.
"Some roads can become impassable at times due to increasing snowfall rates Saturday," the warning continues, describing travel as expected to be "very hazardous or impossible."
From FEMA: How to prepare for a winter storm
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.