BOSTON –

Snow and rain are creating slippery conditions on roads across Massachusetts, forcing several schools to postpone openings.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for portions of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester and Middlesex counties and will be in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday.

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“Slippery roads are the biggest concern given the snow this morning and this will ease by 9am. Snow squalls will move through between noon and 4 p.m.,” said Storm Team 5 meteorologist Cindy Fitzgibbon.

Snow will be heaviest at the highest elevations in Worcester County, the Monadnock region and the Berkshires, where 4 to 6 inches of snow is possible.

“Worcester County will see 2 to 4 inches of snow, and that will be from near Interstate 495 to the Merrimack Valley and southern New Hampshire,” Fitzgibbon said. “If you drive east from there you can get up to 5cm of snow, and then on the way to the Cape it will be mostly rain.”

Scattered snow squalls are possible throughout Thursday afternoon as a cold front moves in.

“There will be snow showers and squalls between midday and 4pm and the wind will really pick up behind them,” Fitzgibbon said.

A wind advisory is in effect for the Cape and Islands and portions north and west of Interstate 495.

There will be widespread wind gusts exceeding 40 miles per hour, with wind gusts reaching nearly 50 miles per hour on the Cape and Islands.

StormTeam 5 has declared Thursday Impact Weather Day.

Video below: Wind gust forecast