The first in a parade of winter storms is headed to New England this Thursday. Snow will kick in around 8 a.m., with coverage and intensity increasing through noon — leading to the heaviest snowfall and the most widespread travel slowdowns mid-morning.

Roads are expected to become quickly covered in snow with chilly temperatures in place, making travel challenging for most of the day.

This latest system will hit us with 1-3 inches of snow before a switchover to sleet and rain across parts of Mass., Rhode Island.

The Boston 25 Weather team is closely tracking a system that could bring up to 5 inches of snow and icy driving conditions on Thursday before an eventual flip to rain in some places.