Winter storm watches in northeast Ohio, western Penn. starting Wednesday

Northeast Ohio drivers will want to monitor local weather stations for lake snow effect updates before hitting the road Wednesday afternoon through Friday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch that’ll affect Ohio drivers using or near the I-90 corridor.

The winter storm watch has been issued in Ashtabula County in Ohio and Erie County Pennsylvania from Wednesday afternoon through Friday.

The highest lake-effect snowfall is expected to hit roads along and north of the Interstate 90 corridor, and wind gusts could be as high as 40 miles per hour.

According to the NWS, during lake effect snow, the weather can vary from bands of locally heavy snow to dry weather just a few miles away.

Road visibility can also vary during lake-effect snow.

Temperatures are expected to drop in Pittsburgh and across western Pennsylvania to single-digits late Wednesday night into Thursday.

What’s the difference between a winter storm watch, advisory and a warning?

The NWS will issue a winter storm watch when there are “favorable conditions for a winter storm event.”

A winter weather advisory is issued by the NWS when they’re expecting three to five inches of snow accumulation, as well as freezing rain and sleet.

The most severe is a winter storm warning, which is issued when the NWS is expecting between six and eight inches of heavy snow to accumulate.

The NWS can also issue ice storm and blizzard warnings.

A warning “indicates that conditions pose a threat to life or property, and that travel will become difficult to impossible,” according to the NWS.