"Flakes are flying in Minnesota and North Dakota, where up to 10 inches of snow has fallen from an 'Alberta Clipper' that is barreling southeastwards across the U.S.," Weather Underground writes this morning.

Our friends at Minnesota Public Radio say "roads are in terrible shape," around the Twin Cities and other parts of the state. Their advice: "If you can stay put today or work from home that might be a good idea." The Star Tribune's The Drive blog says there have been quite a few spinouts on the roads already.

In Chicago, the Tribune is warning that "the heavy stuff is on its way. Forecasters are predicting 4 to 8 inches will fall on the Chicago area by tonight, with 10 inches possible in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. An inch or more per hour is expected at the height of the storm this afternoon and evening."

The National Weather Service sums up the story this way: The storm is moving out of the Upper Midwest and "heavy snow [is] possible from parts of the Ohio Valley to parts of the Mid-Atlantic."

The Weather Channel has dubbed this storm Saturn. But The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang blog is among those using the more topical "Snowquester." It writes this morning that for the capital region "this is easily the biggest snow threat we've seen over the past two winters. ... Significant snow accumulations of 3-8 inches are likely (except 6-12 inches west of the beltway). Snow ends Wednesday night with a gradual warming trend Thursday into the weekend."

To the north, two to six inches of snow is expected in the Philadelphia area by Thursday morning.

Update at 1 p.m. ET. Flights Canceled.

This should come as no surprise:

"More than 1,000 flights have been canceled in Chicago as a fierce winter storm threatens to dump as much as 10 inches of wind-whipped snow in time for the evening commute," the Chicago Tribune reports.

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Source: NPR