The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook Thursday for Howard County and much of central and western Maryland warning residents to expect a wintry mix with possible freezing rain Thursday night into Friday morning.

NWS is predicting less than a half an inch of sleet and snow accumulation possible overnight as well as a morning fog. Freezing rain is expected to stop by 4 a.m., although rain is likely to continue up until 4 p.m. Friday, according to NWS.

However, the winter weather in this area pales in comparison to what is being predicted for the Northeast.

Currently, the National Weather Service is predicting about one to two feet of snow to fall between Friday and Saturday for much of Southern New England, including most of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island.

The blizzard in New England has the potential to top the region’s largest storms, including the President’s Day storm of 2003, when 27.5 inches fell from Feb. 17-18, or the Blizzard of ’78, when 27.1 inches fell from Feb. 6-7, according to CBS Boston.

Of course, you can’t talk snowstorms in the mid-Atlantic without bringing up the great Snowpocalypse of 2010. That storm blasted the DC/Baltimore area from Feb. 5-6, leaving the highest recorded total of the storm, 38.3 inches, in Elkridge, according to the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.