The first snow of the season is underway and several inches of snow has already fallen in the snowbelts by early Monday morning.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A fast-moving area of low pressure, known as a clipper, blasted through the Northeast Wednesday, leaving more than 70,000 customers without power across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and New York Thursday morning.

Winter storms bring a multitude of risks to your home and physical health and preparation for them should be taken just as seriously as other extreme weather events like hurricanes or tornadoes.

Nine states across the U.S. have been issued with winter weather warnings by the National Weather Service (NWS), with some expected to see up to 18 inches of snowfall from Sunday through to Tuesday morning.

The colder conditions will also create the potential for light to moderate snow across that region beginning Sunday, the first of the season for many.

Our first snowfall of the Fall season arrived this past weekend adding up to just over an inch for Rockford. In general, snowfall totals ranged from 1-2 inches throughout the viewing area. Further

“Patchy blowing snow” and wind chills near zero were expected in portions of Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Some areas had already received measurable snow, including 4 inches in southwest Minnesota and more than 5 inches in parts of northern Iowa.

An early-season Arctic blast is sweeping across the Midwest and eastern United States, bringing heavy snow, powerful winds and record cold to millions