An intense lake effect snow event was getting underway Friday morning, a storm expected to hammer parts of the Great Lakes region, including Upstate New York — plastering lakeside communities with up to 5 feet of snow.

The NWS has issued lake effect snow warnings in New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, predicting significant snowfall through the weekend.

A lake-effect storm in the Great Lakes region that was bringing heavy snow to parts of northern New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania on Friday prompted the closure of highways, disrupting travel after the Thanksgiving holiday,