Excitement was high Sunday as the National Weather Service updated the expected snowfall totals to 16 to 24 inches throughout the region.

By daybreak there was 5-8 inches with drifting throughout the area, with more to come.

Brett Rossio, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, said the dry snow will combine with high winds to cause drifting and blowing.

Rossio said, “It is not recommended being on the roads if you don’t have to.”

Rossio said the snow was expected to turn really heavy throughout the day and will continue tonight before it begins to taper off Tuesday morning.

“This is going to be an impressive storm,” he said. “The reason we’re going to be getting so much is because of the duration of the storm.”

Rossio re-emphasized the importance of staying off the roadways wherever possible.

“It makes it easier for the road crews to clean up the roads,” he said. “It’s very dangerous, (with the) reduced visibility; very unsafe to be driving on the roads.”

Carbon and Schuylkill closed county offices for Monday. Snow days are no longer necessary though for schools, as many districts announced virtual options.

Fully aware of the storm ahead, many made sure to pick up their necessities on Sunday.

Jarett Sweeney of Summit Hill picked up two bags of ice melt while inside Lowe’s Home Improvement in Mahoning Township early Sunday afternoon.

The store had several pallets inside the store filled with ice melt, where about a half-dozen shovels could be found.

“It’s just the sidewalks in front of our house always get icy, so I got to take care of that,” Sweeney said. “We were out at Walmart, but they didn’t have it, so here we are.”

Though he may be in the minority, Sweeney said he’s actually looking forward to the storm.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “See what comes; it makes things interesting.”

Elsewhere, Mallard Markets in Lehighton experienced a steady flow of customers who picked out their gallons of milk, loaves of bread and dozens of eggs.

Julius Casari of Lehighton said he and his wife returned from their home at Lake Wallenpaupack.

“With the storm coming,” Casari said. “Got our bread and milk.”

While she bought some milk, Annette Youngkin of Lehighton said it wasn’t necessarily the weather that brought her out to the store.

“I’m just out picking up extras,” Youngkin said. “Sunday pickups.”

Rossio encouraged people - especially the elderly - to pace themselves when shoveling.

“Take your time, especially for the elderly shoveling this heavy snow, that can be strenuous on them,” he said. “If you have a neighbor that’s older, (try) to help them out.”

Rossio said after the snow tapers off Tuesday morning, temperatures will remain chilly, with a high of 31.

He said it will remain a little bit breezy Wednesday across the region, but will be dry, as high pressure moves in on Thursday and temperatures will gradually rise to a high of 35.

Rossio said we could see some rain ahead of the next cold front on Friday. Depending on the temperatures, we might briefly be in for a little bit of sleet or freezing rain, though the temperature is going to be 37 for a high.

He said it looks like once the cold front passes through, they’re watching what could actually be another storm developing late this weekend on Sunday. Temperatures will turn very cold across the northeast.