Charlotte and surrounding areas are under a winter storm warning through Saturday morning, National Weather Service forecasters said.

A winter storm is set to bring the first significant snowfall to Charlotte in nearly three years. Here's the latest on timing, trends and potential impacts.

At least 46 million people were under a winter storm warning as of Thursday as the storm spreads along the Gulf Coast Friday, according to the weather service. The storm should weaken by Saturday, bringing lighter snow between 1 and 3 inches to parts of the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Ohio Valley before exiting off the Carolinas.

It is becoming increasingly likely that freezing rain and sleet will be mixing into the forecast Friday night into Saturday morning.

The storm was sweeping across a wide swath of the South on Friday, dumping a mix of wintry precipitation from Oklahoma to Georgia.

North Carolinians should pay close attention to their local weather forecast, make sure they are prepared with what they need at home before Friday afternoon, and stay home if possible as ice on the roadways will likely create dangerous driving conditions.

Charlotte has a 90% chance of snow, sleet and freezing rain from the approaching system, National Weather Service meteorologists said.

Charlotte has a 100% chance of snow, sleet and freezing rain from the approaching system, National Weather Service forecasters said.

The timing for the storm Friday has moved up slightly with wintry weather now expected to move in around lunchtime and last until roughly sunrise on Saturday. WINTER STORM WARNING: Click here for live,

Snow could mix in as early as 1 p.m. Friday before making the switch to sleet and freezing rain early evening.