A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for the New York area through Thursday evening as a rapidly developing system threatens to bring up to a foot of snow to some parts of the region.

The temperatures on Wednesday morning were in the 60s in some areas and will soon be replaced by heavy snow and bitter cold on Thursday.

The winter storm warning is in effect from midnight until 6 p.m. Thursday for New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut, the lower Hudson Valley and northeastern New Jersey.

Forecasters say rain will change to snow with accumulations of four to eight inches across most of the Tri-State, but some spots in New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut could see up to 10 inches.

According to the National Weather Service, snow could fall at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour, with more than 2 inches per hour possible in spots. Wind gusts are expected to reach up to 35 mph, with the strongest gusts along the coast, where meteorologists say near-blizzard conditions are possible.

Seven to 12 inches of snow could fall on New York City, Nassau County, New Jersey, Connecticut and the Hudson Valley. Suffolk County and the Jersey Shore are more likely to see 4 to 6 inches of snow.

The storm is expected to cripple travel by ground and air Thursday. The city’s Department of Sanitation and Office of Emergency Management planned an afternoon news briefing to lay out storm preps ahead of the snow.

There will be clearing later Thursday but it will be very cold with lows in the teens Thursday night.

(Sources: NBC / WABC / CBS)