Snow, sleet and snow on the East Coast as a source of most disastrous winter weather storms: An advisory for Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania

The National Weather Service predicts that ice, sleet and snow will hit the East Coast on the first weekend of the new year, posing a risk of slippery roads, power outages and downed trees.

There is up to a foot of snow predicted this weekend in northern Rhode Island and wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour in eastern and western Massachusetts.

Similar icy conditions are bound for parts of North Carolina, where a mix of snow and sleet will begin to fall Friday and turn into freezing rain early Saturday. The NWS has issued a winter storm warning for parts of the state on Saturday.

Freezing rain has been the source of some of the “most disastrous winter weather storms,” according to the NWS. It happens when a warm piece of air and a cold piece of air fall on each other. The whiplash in temperatures causes water droplets to instantly freeze upon contact with a surface, whether it’s the ground, trees or power lines.

Parts of north central and northeast Georgia are expected to see freezing rain on Saturday, which will cause hazardous road conditions and power outages.

The bulk of the winter storm system will cross through Pennsylvania starting late morning to early afternoon Saturday, according to Sonya Lewis, a NWS meteorologist in State College, Pa.

The state of Pennsylvania was due for its highest amount of snow on Saturday so it ended a record 346-day snowless period by the afternoon. The town of Hollidaysburg, between Pittsburgh and State College, had recorded the most snowfall in the past 24 hours at 7.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

The NWS afternoon advisory said hazardous travel conditions were affecting most of the region. The public is urged to delay unnecessary travel.