The first snowfall of the season late tonight into Friday could produce half a foot of snow or more in the region’s higher elevations.

While the valley may not see more than a slushy coating to an inch, anywhere from upward of 6 to 12 inches could drop as you head up to the mountains, said Adam Douty, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

Douty said it’s very elevation dependent, in that the higher you go, the more snow is likely.

“It’s very typical for an early-winter storm,” Douty said. “Very typical to see something like this happen.”

Douty added that while we probably won’t see a whole lot today aside from a little drizzle and a couple of showers, the real action’s going to be tonight.

He said that around midnight or so, the precipitation is expected to come back in and it may begin as a light drizzle in the Valley and might begin as snow on top of the mountain.

Douty said the Valley will likely switch over to snow by way of some moderate snow Friday morning.

“Even with that, temperatures will be hovering close to freezing in Lehighton,” he said.

Douty said there figures to be some snow fairly steadily tonight through most of the morning Friday, but once we get into Friday afternoon, it’s possible the snow changes over to rain.

“But, on top of ridges or mountains, it could snow much of the entire day, but as we head deeper into the afternoon, it should slowly begin to taper off,” he said. “By Friday night, pretty much the whole area should dry off, and it should taper off completely.”

Douty cautioned that those who have to travel should give themselves extra time to arrive at their destination.

“People in town in Lehighton who have to head somewhere, once you start driving up the mountain, the conditions are worse,” he said. “Leave extra time; the first snow of the season usually tends to catch people off guard.”

Shoveling figures to be a bit of a chore as well, Douty noted.

“It’s going to be a heavy wet snow,” he said. “It’s not going to be very pleasant to shovel, so take your time shoveling.”

Douty said there’s probably not much of a threat of refreezing in the valley.

“Up in the mountains, there’s more of a concern for refreezing Saturday night,” he said. “With the wind, a lot of the day Saturday is going to be dry and breezy.”

Douty said Saturday’s high is expected to reach 47 with windy conditions and a low of 38, with Sunday’s high expected to hit 48, with a low of 32.

He said things will slowly begin to warm up on Monday, with a high of 50.