By Aidan Gardiner, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
NEW YORK CITY — The first snow began to blanket New York City Friday morning, but forecasters warned much worse is yet to come.
The severity of Winter Storm Nemo is set to increase throughout Friday with total snowfall possibly topping over 10 inches and wind gusts reaching 45 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm, predicted to span from New York City to Maine, is the product of two weather systems merging together. One is moving east from the Great Lakes Region and the other is heading up from off the coast of the Carolinas.
The Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for the New York City area that remains in effect through 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Friday morning will see light snowfall interspersed with rain, with temperatures near 40 degrees. The rain will keep accumulation levels low, according to a NWS meteorologist.
But the wintery mix will likely become all snow by 3 p.m.
Conditions will worsen by rush-hour as temperatures drop, causing accumulation of "up to 1 or 2 inches per hour," the NWS forecaster said.
The worst of the storm is set to wallop New York City beginning about 10 p.m., with winds gusting up to 40 mph and total accumulation topping 10 inches, the meteorologist said.
"It's not out of the question to see up to 14 inches," he said. "The caveat there is that it’s not known yet where these particularly heavy bands will set up."
The storm will likely weaken but still continue through Saturday morning before dying off in the afternoon, according to the NWS.
Because the storm will pick up by rush-hour Friday, commuters should try to leave work early and reach their destination by about 5 p.m., officials said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Friday that it has no plans to shut down subway service, but may ground its bus fleet depending on the severity of the storm.
The MTA also announced that its commuter rails like Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road will be running additional trains through Friday afternoon to accommodate the extra passengers escaping the storm. It plans to cancel several trains after 5 p.m.
For more information about the forecast in your neighborhood, check out DNAinfo's weather page.