Winter Storm Alert Upgraded from Watch to Warning, Eight to Twelve Inches Expected in Some Areas

Get the window scraper ready, adjust your travel plans, and buy your hot cocoa: it's about to get winter up in this place.

The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities has upgraded the weather alert yesterday from a Winter Storm Watch to a Winter Storm Warning for counties in Eastern Iowa and into Illinois. The action appears to be starting on Wednesday night and continuing into Thursday.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY...A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT THE AREA. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN IOWA INTO FAR NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WHERE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED. STRONG WINDS WILL RESULT IN NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR FAR EAST CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS..AND FAR NORTHEAST MISSOURI. SNOWFALL TOTALS UP TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THIS AREA...ALONG WITH CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER STATEMENT FOR MORE COMPLETE AND UPDATED INFORMATION.

Check out this handy map to see where the worst of the weather may fall.

Of course, weather predictors have been known to have erred in the past. But just in case, it would be best to be prepared for what may be the Maya Snowmaggedon of 2012.