Winter has officially arrived. And here comes the snow.

The National Weather Service in State College has issued a winter weather advisory for the area. The advisory is expected to bring snow, wind and temperatures below freezing through this afternoon.

According to meteorologist John Banghoff, the area will see snow but mostly in the earlier hours of today.

“At this point, we’re expecting 1 to 3 inches for the county overnight (Friday) through (this) morning. Mainly, it will be focused on the morning hours,” he said.

Fortunately for those traveling for the holidays, the region is not expected to receive any sleet or freezing rain. However, Banghoff said the area can expect to receive significant wind.

He said, “We are expecting decent wind (today) –– sustained from 10 to 20 miles per hour and gusts from 20 to 30 miles per hour. The wind will pick up when the cold front moves through.”

But wait, there’s more. As Banghoff said, the cold front moving in overnight will bring sub-freezing temperatures with it.

“As the cold front moves through, it will allow the precipitation to change from rain to snow,” he said.

Despite the recent period of more mild weather, the meteorologist said it looks like the area will have a white Christmas after all, as temperatures are not expected to get very far above freezing, if at all.

“It does look like the high on Saturday will be about 30 degrees. It might get around freezing on Sunday, but I would imagine the snow will stick around through Christmas.”