National Weather Service issues updates for RI. A look at the latest snow forecast

Update Jan. 7: Want to know how much snow fell, or get current updates? Here's our live coverage

While much of Rhode Island is still expected to see the first significant snowfall in two years, it may not be as much as expected earlier in the week.

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued a Winter Weather Advisory for most of Rhode Island, including all of Kent and Washington counties, along with southeastern Providence County. Northwestern Providence County is in a Winter Storm Watch.

As of late Saturday morning, both designations go into effect at 4 p.m. Saturday and are scheduled to remain until 1 a.m. Monday.

According to the NWS, communities in the watch area should expect heavy snow, with 8 to 12 inches expected. Winds could gust up to 35 mph. Those in the advisory area are forecast to receive 2 to 4 inches of snow, with wind gusts of 40 mph.

Are you ready for winter weather in RI?: Here's our checklist ahead of snow.

Forecast maps from the NWS show the potential for less than an inch of snow along the coast to up to 12 inches in the state's northwest corner.

When will the storm arrive?

According to reports from the NWS issued late Saturday morning, the southwest corner of Rhode Island should begin to see the weather turn between 6 and 9 p.m.

The remainder of the state is in the 7 to 10 p.m. range.

Rain or snow is expected to end for about half of the state between 3 and 5 p.m. on Sunday. A 5 to 8 p.m. range is forecast for the eastern section of the state.

How is the state preparing for the storm?

With new plows on the road, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti said in a news conference on Saturday that they are "prepared to deal with the snow."

The state will have more than 400 plows on the roads for the winter weather, including 28 brand-new ones. RIDOT will also be focusing resources on the Washington Bridge area and the new viaducts that opened this weekend on Interstate 95, Alviti said, including having tow trucks on hand and coordinating with the state police to clear roads in the event of an accident.

"Our mission is to have the snow gone by the Monday morning commute," Alviti said. "What I have told maintenance crews and staff to do is make it look like summer on Monday morning. At least, that's the mission, right?"

Both Alviti and Gov. Dan McKee told drivers to stay off the roads during the storm unless absolutely necessary.

"But if you are on the roads," McKee said, "let's make sure that we keep our distance from those workers that are clearing the roads for our safety. Plowing is not easy."

In addition to the state's preparations for snow removal, McKee said, Rhode Island Energy has added staff to quickly address any outages that occur, and the state is opening warming shelters, a list of which can be found at riema.ri.gov.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI weather: National Weather Service forecast for Jan. 6-7 snowstorm