A store's promotional sign is snowed under in Lowville, N.Y., on Friday. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)

A lot of snow, rain and cold weather await travelers for the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with winter storm warnings posted Friday across the northern part of the country and more snow falling over the Great Lakes region.

Storm warnings and advisories extended from Montana to New York, the National Weather Service said. Snow was expected to start Friday and last well into the weekend in some areas, with Iowa and Illinois getting the brunt of it. Six inches to a foot or more of snow is expected in much of west-central Illinois from Friday night through tonight.

So far, forecast conditions do not meet blizzard warning criteria, meteorologists said — winds of at least 35 mph, visibilities of less than a quarter mile and lasting more than three hours.

A storm that already brought snow to parts of the northern Plains states and the Great Lakes region continued Friday. Snowfall totals of at least a foot were expected by the end of the storm, particularly downwind of Lake Superior across the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan and downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario, the weather service said. Areas of central New York state could see a foot of snow.

More than a foot of snow is likely in parts of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan today, according to the weather service.

By today, the snow will taper off for the Rockies and northern Plains.

To the south, storms — some of them heavy — are in the forecast, with some flash flooding possible today in the western Gulf Coast.

Temperatures were well below average in the eastern and central parts of the country, with highs Friday expected in the 20s degrees F and 30s degrees F in the Midwest, the 30s and 40s in New England and Mid-Atlantic areas, and the 40s and 50s in the Southeast.