Northeast faces heavy snow and blizzard conditions this weekend, but models are still unclear on how bad it will be

Heavy snow and strong winds are expected to slam some metro areas in the Northeast where about five million people are planned to be under winter storm watches.

Forecasters expect eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, and Rhode Island will see significant impacts, with the expectation of 8 to 16 inches of snow combined with wind gusts up to 60 mph.

Five million people in the region will be under a winter storm watch effective Friday night through Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service.