The chilly temperatures have arrived!

Howling winds and light snow accumulation prompted the Akron city plows to hit the streets early Friday morning.

Joe Toth with Akron Snow and Ice Control tells AkronNewsnow.com, that the roads could be slick in some spots and reminds motorists to take their time.

"The primaries are lightly coated with snow and we have 49 truck out there on the primary routes this morning," he said.

He said the trucks will continue to spread salt.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory, which is in effect until 3 p.m. Two to four inches of snow could accumulate Friday morning. Forecasters say it's possible snow showers could bring an additional inch or two Friday night.

Click here to see the weekend forecast.

It's starting to look a lot like winter in the Akron area.

The National Weather Service has issued a Lake Effect Snow Warning, which lasts through Tuesday at 12 p.m.

"We're going to see the lake effect snow, we're going to see significant snow bands start to set up late today and tonight especially," Michael Palmer said, Weather Channel meteorologist.

Lake Effect Snow Warning: Weather Channel Update by WAKR Lindsay McCoy

Three to five inches of snow is expected, with additional accumulation possible Palmer said.

Click here for your extended forecast.

"With those winds gusting 30-40 miles per hour and the bands of heavier lake effect snow developing, that's going to whip around the snow and reduce visibility," he said.

Palmer suggests taking it slow while behind the wheel, as the roads could become slick through Tuesday.

After the snow moves through, a warming trend may help melt it away bringing highs into the 40s by the end of the week. 

Dropping temperatures and the threat for snow showers into the weekend begins Tuesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory, which goes into effect at 4 p.m. Tuesday and carries through Wednesday at 12 p.m.

The advisory covers Summit and Portage counties.

The warm, moist air from the Gulf will move out of the Akron-area region by the afternoon on Tuesday. Cooler temperatures are expected into the evening.

"As we head through the evening, we'll see that one to three, maybe four inches of snow accumulated," Tony Jackson said, Weather Channel meteorologist.

After this low pressure system moves out overnight, a new system will move in and could bring lake-effect snow showers through the weekend.

There is some snow activity in Akron this morning and even though it's not expected to cause any major problems in the greater Akron area, the city of Akron is ready. 

City Service Director Rick Merolla says the city always prepares at least for an average winter.

Merolla says there's one key priority for city road crews during the winter, even if the budget is tight overall...

"We have to make sure that streets are plowed so people can get to work, and schools, and the hospitals and doctor's appointments," Merolla tells AkronNewsNow. "And so, that's a priority for us, and we'll have to find some areas in the budget that we can do without later in the year."

Merolla says keeping the roads clear is a public safety issue.

He says his department's equipment is in very good shape.

Not only are the snow clearing efforts benefiting from the purchase of two new trucks a few years ago, other divisions with newer equipment help when needed as well.

Several inches of snow are expected in an area stretching from Maine to West Virginia. 

We're not expecting any snow in Akron - yet - but Akron city crews say they're ready for Old Man Winter, whenever he arrives.

Akron Public Works Manager Paul Barnett says the work starts early in preparation for the snow and ice.

"We start about mid-summer," Barnett says. "We go through all of our trucks and we try to find things that are not working and in disrepair, and before the winter starts we take care of all of those issues."

There can be up to 51 city of Akron units on the road during major snowstorms.

Barnett says that the city's approach to the harsh winter has not changed.

"Everything is pretty much the same, other than our policies for buying salt in case the winter is predicted to be worse than normal for this time of year."

He says that by telling the contractor that the city will buy a certain amount of salt plus or minus 20 percent depending on forecaster's predictions of the weather for the next three months.

Barnett emphasized that predicting three months of weather patterns had no direct correlation on their ability to treat area roads.

"We can listen to ten different forecasters and get ten different predictions, and in the end, we don't have an accurate predictor of the weather, we just need to be prepared for the worst, and we are."

He also emphasized to allow extra time to get to your destination when the weather gets hairy and to allow enough distance between yourself and the plow.

"Stay composed on the road, allow yourself extra time and don't crowd the plow," he says.

"If you stick to those, you shouldn't encounter too many problems on the roads."