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

Snowflakes are to start falling tonight and may lead to the first accumulation of the season, said meteorologist John Darnley of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

“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 envelop 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.”

Winds from the northwest through the night and into Tuesday morning will be steady at 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

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

The chance of precipitation is 100 percent, and it will change from rain to snow about 8 p.m. Snow will continue until about 8 a.m. Tuesday.

“However,” Darnley said, “there is also a chance of isolated snow showers (Tuesday) afternoon. But probably no additional accumulation.”

The high temperature Tuesday as well as Wednesday will be about 34 degrees. The overnight lows each day will be about 21 with wind chills hitting 12 degrees.