A winter weather advisory is in effect in Massachusetts today as several inches of snow is expected to fall across the state, according to the National Weather Service's Boston office. Snow is already beginning in western Massachusetts as of 8 a.m. Thursday, and it will pick up in the eastern part of the state later this morning.

Storm Freya whipped from the Midwest into the Northeast Thursday, coating roads in slick ice from Baltimore up the I-95 corridor, making for dangerous commutes and forcing school closures and delayed openings.

Meteorologists are forecasting a series of snow storms, including 2 to 3 inches of snow in the Boston-area on Thursday before a chance for more than 6 inches this weekend.