Law enforcement and local school systems have only the safety of the public and of children in mind when making decisions to shut down roads or close down schools, according to state police spokesperson Brooks David.
The weather service says even areas that don't see snow accumulations could experience hazardous road conditions with ice, sleet, rain and heavy winds.
Boston and northern Massachusetts could get 2 to 4 inches of snow and coastal New Hampshire may see 1 to 2 inches. Areas west of Boston to Worcester are forecast to get about an inch and far eastern Maine could get 8 to 14 inches.
The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for an area stretching from New York's southwest corner to eastern Lake Ontario, which could get up to two feet of snow.
For the Mid-Atlantic states and Northeast, the heavy weather is the latest in an unending drumbeat of storms that have depleted salt supplies and caused schools to run out of snow days.