The several inches of snow expected to fall on much of Georgia means school closings and flight cancellations.

The National Weather Service predicts up to three inches of snow throughout Georgia. Forecaster Shirley Lamdack says the winter storm is moving through Alabama, making its way west to Georgia.

"A mixture of rain and snow is expected to come through west central Georgia, in the Columbus area late morning, changing to all snow in the afternoon," says Lamdack.

In anticipation, the following schools have canceled classes Friday: Coweta, Douglas, Early, Fayette, Floyd, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Peach, Pike, Pulaski, Meriwether, Newton, Rockdale, Twiggs and Washington counties.

Carroll County, Clarke County and Decatur city schools will close early, and Commerce and Jefferson city schools will be closed along with Griffin-Spalding and Thomaston-Upson County schools.

Lamdack says metro-Atlanta will see flurries late this morning, which could continue until after midnight. That's prompted Delta Airlines to cancel 400 departures from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

AirTran is also decreasing its schedule, saying it will cut 32 of its flights because of the threat of snow. That includes flights in and out of Atlanta.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is advising people to only travel when necessary. Road crews will be treating interstate and state routes as necessary and will continue throughout Friday and into Saturday morning.

Tags: Georgia, transportation, National Weather Service, School Closings, snow, flight cancellations, icey roads, Shirley Lamdack