Butler County residents will wake up either to a dusting or a blanket of snow Tuesday morning. Not to mention bitter cold.

The first snowflakes of the season are to fall starting tonight, said meteorologist John Darnley of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, and continue through early morning.

“One to 3 inches for Butler County,” Darnley said this morning.

The early dose of winter is due to an arctic cold front from Canada moving south. The front will envelope much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, with snow possible from Boston to Washington D.C.

Ahead of the cold front is a high pressure system that will bring rain to the county much of this afternoon. Highs temperatures will be in the mid 40s.

“But don’t be fooled,” Darnley warned. “The snow’s coming. So are gusty winds and low temperatures.”

That wind combined with the overnight low in the mid-20s means it will feel more like 18 degrees, Darnley said.

Precipitation, which is 100 percent, will change over from rain to snow about 8 p.m. Snow will continue until about 8 a.m. Tuesday.