Weather forecasters are bumping up their prediction of how much snow we’ll get in northern Jefferson County and southern Blount County this afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service says that metro Birmingham could get two inches of snow beginning this afternoon, with some areas near the Blount-Jefferson line getting three or four inches.

As temperatures fall to the freezing mark this afternoon, the cold rain will change over to a winter mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow, and then gradually switch over to all snow through the rest of the night. The freezing rain could leave as much as a tenth of an inch coating roads, especially bridges and elevated surfaces.

North Alabama will see even more snow. The cities of Cullman, Decatur and Huntsville may see five or more inches of snow today. That’s caused the Alabama High School Athletic Association to delay the start of its state wrestling tournament in Huntsville from Thursday to Friday.

It will also likely effect the sub-regional round of the AHSAA girls basketball tournament on Thursday night; Hayden, Fultondale and Center Point are scheduled to host games, while Gardendale travels to Shades Valley and Corner goes to Calera. (Locust Fork’s sub-regional at J.O. Johnson High near Huntsville is scheduled for Friday, as the schools’ boys teams are also slated to play a sub-regional playoff against each other.)

Local school systems have yet to announce if they will call off classes on Thursday. If they do, it would be the third straight off day for students.

Nearly all churches in our area have called off Wednesday-night services and activities.

This is a developing story; we’ll update throughout the day.