Heavy winds, deep snow and the possibility of coastal flooding are on the way as tri-town residents brace for winter’s first significant storm.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning in effect from Monday night starting at 7 p.m. until Wednesday morning at 1 a.m. The worst of the storm is expected to start after 1 a.m. early Tuesday morning.

In Mattapoisett, last weekend's storm prompted Highway Department crews to treat roads with salt and ice on three separate occasions.

Highway Surveyor Barry Denham noted because of that roads won't be pre-treated.

"There's a lot of salt residue on the road right now," Denham said. "I don't anticipate starting to de-ice until the snow starts to accumulate and the roads start to get slippery."

Denham said for a storm this size 14 town vehicles will be on local roads plowing and sanding.

Looking back, he said the town weathered a massive snowstorm two years ago that knocked out power for days.

"We know how bad the storm was two years ago and what it took to dig out of that one," he said. "We expect to make it out of this one OK and make sure the roads are open and accessible as soon they can."

So far in the tri-town, the only organization to post a closing is the Marion Recreation Department. It will be closed Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday. More cancelations will be posted as they are announced.

Along the coast, wind gusts of over 50 miles per hour are expected and with it the likelihood of power outages.

Ahead of the storm, National Grid has taken measures to help restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

“With sustained periods of heavy snow, gale-force winds and blizzard conditions, this storm as the potential to cause severe damage to the electric system,” said Dan Bunszell, National Grid’s vice president of New England operations. “If the storm turns out to be as severe as the meteorologists are predicting, it could take several days to restore power to all of our customers.”

To prepare for the storm National Grid has asked for additional crews from throughout New England. Also, there are plans to staff six equipment and personnel staging areas throughout the region.

Snow totals are predicted to be between 18 and 24 inches in the tri-town. Snow will become heavy tonight after midnight with accumulations rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour until early Tuesday morning.

There will be two high tides from now until the storm ends which will bring the threat of moderate to major coastal flooding. The first high tide peaks at 3 a.m. early Tuesday morning. The second follows at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.