UPDATE (4:19 pm): This story has been updated to include a cancellation announcement from Newtown Parks & Recreation, and an early closing notice from C.H. Booth Library.

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The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the northern portions of Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, and New London counties. 

The warning went into effect at 2 pm this afternoon, and will remain in effect through 4 am Friday, November 16.

An NWS Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet, and ice will make travel very hazardous or impossible.

Newtown, and the other areas under the current warning, is expected to see heavy snow and then mixed precipitation over the area before the weather system moves out of the area. Total  snow accumulations of 4 to 7 inches and ice accumulations of around one tenth of an inch is expected, according to the warning.

Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are possible, as are winds gusting as high as 40 mph.

Ahead of the approaching weather, Newtown Public Schools announced early Thursday morning that public schools in town would operate with a three-hour early dismissal today. Public School preschool was also canceled.

Due to the early dismissal, all afternoon activities were also canceled at Newtown High School, including TAP, Parent Conferences and tonight's opening night performance of The Crucible, according to a post on the high school's Facebook page around 7:15 this morning.

The NHS Drama Department fall production is scheduled to continue Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 pm, and Sunday, November 18, at 2 pm. Click here for additional information.

Two town commissions have also canceled meetings planned for this evening. The Planning & Zoning Commission and Sustainable Energy Commission have both announced they will not be meeting tonight.

The town's Pension Committee, which had also been scheduled to meet tonight, issued a cancellation notice earlier this week.

Newtown Parks & Recreation has announced that evening programs including Mad Science, dog obedience classes, tennis clinics at NYA, and Torpedoes swim practice have all been canceled ahead of the weather.

C.H. Booth Library will be closing at 5 pm Thursday. 

Local businesses, organizations, groups, et al that have evening events changed due to the weather are invited to send an email to Newtown Bee Associate Editor Shannon Hicks, at shannon@thebee.com. The same holds true for plans or schedules that need to be altered on Friday should weather continue to hamper safe travels. 

Forecast Details

As of 2:45 Thursday afternoon, most of Connecticut was under a Winter Storm Warning. Only the very southern portions along the coast of Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties were under a Storm Warning.

The evening commute will be challenging. The NWS is predicting snow will be “likely after 4 pm” for Newtown and the immediate area. The afternoon’s forecast continues as “Cloudy, with a high near 30. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. East wind around 8 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.”

For Thursday evening, the service is calling for “snow and sleet before 11 pm, then rain or freezing rain between 11 pm and 2 am, then rain after 2 am. Temperature rising to around 35 by 5 am. Wind chill values between 15 and 25.

East wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.”

For Friday, rain is still “likely, possibly mixing with snow after 8 am, then gradually ending,” NWS says for Newtown and the immediate area. Friday’s morning should be “Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Wind chill values between 25 and 35. North wind 8 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. Little or no snow accumulation expected,” the service was predicting just before 3 pm Thursday. 

Wunderground.com had similar expectations for Newtown. The website was calling for a “wintry mix,” with periods of snow and some sleet, beginning around 3:30 Thursday. Nearly 2 inches of snow could fall during the next few hours. 

The wintry mix would turn to rain during the overnight, and then continue as rain on Friday morning. 

Thursday afternoon’s high would hover around 30 degrees, according to Wunderground, before dropping a few more degrees, to 27, during the overnight. Friday morning’s high will be around 41 degrees, also according to that website.