A winter storm on Thursday is expected to drop a half-foot of snow across the region and cause messy driving conditions. Snow began falling in the Portland area by late morning and is expected to pick up in intensity throughout the afternoon.

Initially, it will be cold enough for all snow. Snow begins in southern and western Maine between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. In central and eastern Maine, it’s a later arrival, starting between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The steadiest snow will fall during the afternoon and early evening.

A storm that brought heavy snowfall early Thursday afternoon is the latest in a string of winter storms to impact Maine.

Snow will rapidly move into Maine later Thursday morning, and heavy snowfall is expected Thursday afternoon with very messy travel conditions across the state. More winter storms are in the pipeline for this weekend and next week.