The National Weather Service has  issued a Winter Storm Warning for most of the region, including all of Western New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier. For the Rochester area, it runs from 1:00pm on Saturday to 6:00pm on Sunday.

The National Weather Service says expect near-blizzard conditions from Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed the New York State Department of Transportation and the Thruway Authority to ban tractor trailers and buses on the entire Thruway system, with the exception of I-95 in Westchester and Bronx counties, and most interstate highways out of an abundance of caution due to the winter storm. 

The ban will be in effect beginning 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and will last for the duration of the storm.

Rochester and the Finger Lakes region will be getting more than 520 new jobs from two projects that Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul talked about Friday during at stop at Rochester City Hall.

The jobs will be generated by two projects that Governor Andrew Cuomo hinted in the budget proposal he released this past week.

One of them involves the addition of up to 400 new jobs over the next five years in Geneva, at a company called RealEats, a meal delivery company.

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo is urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel this weekend beginning at noon on Saturday and continuing through at least noon on Sunday due to the upcoming winter storm.

Forecasts indicate heavy snow will impact the region from Saturday into Sunday, along with additional lake effect snow through Monday.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren is urging motorists to strictly adhere to alternate side parking regulations this weekend so that plows can efficiently clear streets.

In anticipation of forecasted heavy snow, the City’s R-Centers will close early Saturday and hours will be extended at the 311 Call Center.

R-Centers will close at 1 p.m. Saturday, all programming is canceled Sunday, and city facilities are normally closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Rochester's Open Door Mission shelter is filled to capacity, but they'll open their doors this weekend to those who need to protect themselves from the snowstorm and bitter cold hitting the region this weekend.

Executive Director Anna Valeria-Iseman says a "Code Blue" is in effect which means no one will be turned away from shelter in these conditions.

``We've been consistently full as well, and also placing some overflow when it gets colder, so we're absolutely expecting that this weekend," she said.