It is getting to be a familiar pattern: at bedtime the streets are clear, but by morning, the ground is covered in fluffy white stuff - just enough snow to force the cancellation of schools and make the morning commute a little slower.

And what brought this snow?

"We call this an 'Alberta Clipper' because it comes in from Canada and moves fairly quickly across the eastern United States," said National Weather Service meteorologist Ray Young, at the Charleston, W.Va., office. "The snow started last night and we're on the back edge of it now. But it moves fairly quickly and typically drops and inch of two of snow."

Young said the weather service's South Point gauge recorded two inches of snow. The area could get an additional half-inch today.

The weather won't improve over the weekend: Young said cold arctic air is following on the heels of the Alberta Clipper. By early this morning, the temperature in Dayton had fallen to two degrees; the temperature in Indianapolis, Ind., was minus two degrees.

Dispatchers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said one fender bender this morning could be blamed on the snowfall. Also, no one was injured when a car slid off the pavement on U.S. 52 between Lick Creek Road and Grandview Road. Ironton police reported a slow morning with no accidents. Major Jeff Lawless, of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office, said there was only one minor accident on county roadways this morning.

The forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies today with scattered snow showers in the morning. High temperatures today will be near 17 degrees.

Expect a 30 percent chance of snow this evening with the mercury hovering in the single digit range. Sunshine returns to the forecast Saturday but it will remain very cold, with highs in the mid 20s. The Tri-State will begin to thaw Sunday when the sunshine will be coupled with temperatures in the lower 40s.