It had to happen sooner or later. The National Weather Service says the Minot area, and a good portion of the state, will get its first accumulation of snow beginning later today and continuing into Saturday.

A Winter Weather Advisory was issued by the NWS late Thursday afternoon, meaning forecasters have a high confidence about the weather system expected to impact the state in the coming hours. The NWS says three to five inches of snow is expected to be dumped on western and central North Dakota starting early this evening. The snowfall is expected to last until mid-afternoon Saturday when temperatures will warm enough to bring rainfall.

Initial forecasts issued late Thursday called for four to six inches of snow in the Crosby and Killdeer areas, four inches at Dickinson and three to four inches at Minot, Kenmare, New Town, Watford City, Washburn, Beulah and Bismarck. Lesser amounts of snow, one to two inches, are expected in the Bottineau, Rugby and Harvey areas.

Rain in today’s forecast is expected to change to snow sometime after dark. The major impact, says the NWS, will be snow covered and slushy roads that will negatively impact travel into the weekend.