The Day The Temperature Rose 103 Degrees

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Airlines are waiving fees to change tickets, thousands of plows and de-icing trucks are standing by or already deployed, and drivers are being advised to take caution this weekend in portions of the eastern U.S. as communities from the Carolinas to New England brace for a winter storm making its way across the country.

T​he system has been named Winter Storm Ember by The Weather Channel, and depending on location could bring anywhere from several inches up to a foot of snow plus ice, high winds and rain.

"No matter whether it's snow or rain, Ember will create travel headaches in the Northeast beginning Saturday," weather.com senior meteorologist Chris Dolce said. "Some of the heaviest snow over interior parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England could fall during the evening and overnight hours of Saturday, so it's best to avoid or delay travel plans during that time."

Get the full forecast for Winter Storm Ember here.

M​illions Of People On 'Ember Alert'

A​s of early Friday evening, at least 30 million people were under winter weather alerts in a dozen states.

T​he snow is the first blast of winter weather for many communities. Some areas in the Northeast, including parts of New York and New England, haven't seen significant snowfall in quite some time.

“I think this storm’s been a long time coming,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said, according to The Associated Press. “It’s been over two years since we’ve had a storm of this magnitude, 6 to 12 inches. We’ve got a lot of salt piled up here; it’s been piling up for a while (and) some shiny new snow plows.”

T​he New York State Department of Transportation had more than 1,617 large plow trucks ready to go, as well as other heavy equipment and smaller vehicles, according to a news release from Gov. Kathy Holchul.

“New Yorkers are no strangers to snow, but it’s always important to be prepared and to know how to safely handle incoming weather,” Hochul said. “I urge everyone to pay attention to their local forecast and to plan travel accordingly.”

New York could see rain and possibly some snow in the city, with several inches of snow possible in the Hudson Valley.

Anti-icing operations were already underway Friday in parts of Pennsylvania, where the biggest impacts were expected in the central and northeast parts of the state.

T​ravel Headaches At Airports And On The Highways

Several major airlines including Delta, United and Southwest are waiving change fees at major airports from West Virginia into Maine.

T​he storm brought dangerous driving conditions to places like Arkansas as it trekked east Friday morning. Parts of Interstate 49 between Fayetteville and Fort Smith were blocked by crashed and stranded vehicles.

Drivers in Kansas slid into piles of snow and got stuck in highway medians.

B​oston Mayor Michelle Wu noted in a news conference Friday afternoon that the fact that the storm is coming on a weekend means less impact for daily commuters there.

“It’s still a whole lot of work for our teams and they’re going to be out there, hour by hour, making sure that the city is safe," Wu said.

What Else To Know To Prepare For Winter Storm Ember

-​Follow our maps tracker for the storm to get the latest satellite imagery, snowfall forecasts and more.

-K​now the different types of winter weather and what impacts they can cause.

-​Forecasting snow is one of the most challenging forecasts meteorologists face. Here's why.

-​Stay on top of next week's forecast, too. Another winter storm, named Finn, is incoming.

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.