Syracuse, N.Y. -- Up to a foot of snow could fall in Central New York starting this afternoon into Friday, with the heaviest snowfall and squalls hitting during Thursday morning’s commute, according to the weather service.

Snow showers will develop this afternoon, especially north of the state Thruway in parts of Onondaga, Oswego and Oneida counties, according to the National Weather Service.

Those lake effect bands could bring snow that falls at rates of 1 inch per hour in northern Oneida County.

But early Thursday is when things could get much messier in the Syracuse area.

From about 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday, heavier snow is expected in parts of Onondaga County. Strong winds -- with gusts of more than 40 mph -- could create squalls and whiteout conditions.

Nine counties in Central New York and Northern New York are under a winter storm warning: Chenango, Cortland, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Onondaga, Oneida, Oswego and Otsego.

The exact timing and location of the snow bands is hard to predict, the weather service said in its briefing this morning.

In one scenario, the Syracuse area could get 12 inches of snow. Oswego could get 11 inches, and Boonville 20 inches.

In a more likely forecast, Syracuse would end up with 6 inches of snow, and just 7 inches in Boonville, the weather service predicts.

Strong wind gusts Thursday could knock down tree limbs and lead to isolated to scattered power outages.

Winds south of Syracuse -- into the Finger Lakes and down to the Pennsylvania border -- could gust at 50 mph on Thursday, the service said.