The National Weather Service is predicting a total of 10 to 20 inches of snowfall between Thursday and Friday throughout northern New York and Vermont.

In a Winter Storm Warning issued early Thursday morning, the NWS office in Burlington, Vermont, predicted the heaviest snow to be today, falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches around midday before tapering this evening.

“Travel will be very difficult, especially on Friday,” the Winter Storm Warning says. “If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Please allow extra time if travel is necessary.”

According to the NWS, snow totals by the end of the day are expected to be 11 inches in Lake Placid, between 12 to 18 inches in Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, and upward of 22 inches in Malone. Southern Essex County, including the town of Newcomb, is expected to see ice accumulation of up to 0.14 inches. The southern Adirondacks and Glens Falls could see ice accumulation of up to 0.38 inches.

Many schools canceled classes Thursday due to the inclement weather, including in Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Long Lake and the Adirondack Christian School in Wilmington — plus other schools that share bus schedules with these, such as St. Agnes in Lake Placid and St. Bernard’s and Northern Lights in Saranac Lake. The AuSable Valley Central School District released students early Thursday and Keene Central School was on a two hour delay.

Saranac Lake schools already had scheduled an early dismissal Thursday, plus no school today in celebration of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. As of press time Thursday, the Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Keene, AuSable Valley Central schools and Adirondack Christian School had not posed closure announcements for today.

Some community events have been postponed due to the weather. Historic Saranac Lake pushed tonight’s screening of “The Silver Chalice” back to this coming Wednesday (7 p.m., John Black Room, Saranac Laboratory Museum), and NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery in Saranac Lake delayed an opening reception for Anne Hughes’ exhibit “White and Black” from Friday to Saturday (5 to 7 p.m.).