HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A significant winter storm is poised to bring potentially crippling ice accumulations to northern Alabama this weekend, prompting officials to issue a Winter Storm Watch for areas north of Interstate 20 from Friday evening through Sunday evening.

The National Weather Service in Nashville has upgraded the winter storm watch to a warning.

The Winter storm watch applies to all five boroughs, Long Island and northern New Jersey as the National Weather Service predicts “localized accumulations over 12 inches possible.”