The Great Lakes region on Saturday began digging out from the season's first major snowstorm as the Midwest and Plains shivered under an arctic blast forecast to spread over the eastern third of the country.

A blast of Arctic air taking over much of the U.S. is bringing powerful lake-effect snow to several states and shivering temperatures to parts of the South.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNINGS ARE UP FOR GENESEE AND WYOMING COUNTIES THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS HEAVY SNOW FALLS EAST OF LAKE ERIE. Snowfall rates 2-3″ per hour within LES bands will meander south of Buffalo and across the Tug Hill throughout Saturday and Sunday.

The state of emergency covers Allegany, Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, St. Lawrence and Wyoming counties. Hochul called the predicted forecast "a common lake effect storm" and said that preparedness is key.

The National Weather Service has issued lake effect snow warnings for several counties in upstate New York, predicting significant snowfall through the weekend.

Officials in upstate New York counties have declared a state of emergency as they prepare for a major snowstorm that has already dumped over two feet of snow in the Midwest and is forecast to accumulate more this weekend.