( CNN ) -- The winter storm system that walloped the Midwest moved east Friday night , bringing with it not just snow but powerful winds -- all of which made travel perilous and last-minute Christmas shopping more complicated across several states . Earlier this week , blizzard-like conditions left many locales white less than a week before the holiday . Many communities in central Iowa , for instance , got about a foot of snow , and the city of Madison , Wisconsin , got 15.2 inches Wednesday and Thursday , according to the National Weather Service . This much snow generally is n't expected as the system moves east , hitting Ohio , Pennsylvania and upstate New York . But that does n't mean there have n't been -- and wo n't still be -- plenty of headaches . Snow is hardly foreign to these areas . But the addition of strong winds , especially in mountainous areas and along the Great Lakes , makes staying on snow-slickened roads even harder . `` It 's scary , '' Esther Boyer told CNN affiliate WDTN , soon after her car slid into a ditch Friday in western Ohio . `` I guess I was just driving too fast , and you should slow down a lot sooner . '' The lone blizzard warning , in effect Friday night through 6 p.m. Saturday , was for parts of northern West Virginia and north-central Maryland . The National Weather Service predicts 8 to 12 inches of snow and sustained winds of up to 35 mph , with gusts blowing up to 60 mph . `` Strong winds will cause blowing and drifting of snow with blizzard conditions expected at times with visibilities of one quarter mile or less ( and ) wind chill temperatures in the single digits ... also possible , '' the agency 's forecast said . `` Downed trees and power lines could result from the strongest gusts on Saturday . '' More populated areas -- many of which , such as Buffalo , Cleveland and Erie , Pennsylvania , were seeing snow around 9 p.m. Friday -- are also expected to be hit hard . The latter two cities are among those facing a winter storm warning through 7 p.m. Saturday . The weather service 's forecast calls for 5 to 7 inches of snow , with 10 inches possible in spots , plus regular winds approaching 30 mph and up to 45-mph gusts by Lake Erie . A similar warning applies to western Pennsylvania , where 5 to 9 inches of light to moderate snow -- some of it `` heavier , lake-enhanced snow '' -- and gusts as strong as 40 mph are expected . Even more snow , between 10 to 18 inches , is forecast farther south in Pennsylvania and in northern Maryland , with 50-mph gusts possible . `` A winter storm warning means that snow will make travel dangerous , '' the weather service said . `` If you must venture out at all , use extreme caution . '' These advisories follow severe weather farther west that caused major problems earlier this week . While the city itself was largely spared of snow , Chicago 's two airports -- O'Hare and Midway -- were clogged with travelers due to flight cancellations . Blinding snow is blamed for a 30-car pileup on Interstate 35 near Fort Dodge , Iowa , that killed two people , said Iowa State Patrol Sgt . Scott Bright . It was one of close to 100 weather-related accidents reported around the state by Thursday morning , according to Bright . CNN 's Stefan Simons , Jim Kavanagh , Jareen Imam , Laura Smith-Spark , Carma Hassan and Joe Sutton contributed to this report .
NEW : Cleveland , Buffalo and other locales see snow as the system moves east . NEW : The combination of snow and powerful winds will make driving difficult . Comment: Parts of West Virginia , northern Maryland have blizzard warning into Saturday . NEW : Ohio , upstate New York , eastern and central Pennsylvania may be hard hit .