PITTSFIELD — A powerful storm expected to hit Berkshire County on Sunday has local officials shifting into preparation mode as forecasts call for heavy snowfall, strong winds and dangerous travel conditions.

With 12 to 18 inches of snow predicted to fall from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon, Pittsfield crews will move to 12-hour shifts starting early Sunday, with operations expected to continue through Wednesday, according to Public Services and Utilities Commissioner Ricardo Morales.

A coastal storm is expected to dump heavy snow on western New England and eastern New York, with totals of 12 to 18 inches expected.

“We’re expecting a prolonged storm; we’re likely going to see, at times, more than an inch an hour,” he said. “We're going to be pretreating first and then moving on to continuous snow operations, plowing.”

Despite staffing shortages in the highway division, Morales said employees from other departments with proper licenses would be reassigned as needed, and contractors will be in constantly to maintain coverage across all four quadrants of the city.

Main roads will be the top priority throughout the storm to ensure emergency access and allow essential services to continue moving, Morales said. Neighborhood streets will largely be addressed after the heaviest snowfall subsides.

The city prioritizes main routes — highlighted in blue — for plowing after a storm to support emergency response and public safety, but the Department of Public Works aims to clear all neighborhoods within 24 hours, according to Commissioner Ricardo Morales.

“It takes around three hours for a neighborhood to be fully plowed, so with constant snow coming in three-quarters of an inch to an inch to even more than an inch an hour, by the time we're done plowing a road, it's already covered,” Morales said.

Still, Morales said the city will aim to meet its goal of plowing all neighborhood streets within 24 hours after the storm ends.

City officials said Pittsfield is fully stocked on salt, and roads will be pretreated using a mix of rock salt and liquid magnesium chloride before snow begins to fall.

To aid in snow removal, there will be no on-street parking in the city on both sides of the road from 7 p.m. Saturday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Given the storm’s severity and expected duration, officials are urging residents to stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary.

Road salt is prepped at Pittsfield’s Department of Public Works headquarters on Friday ahead of the major winter storm expected to hit the Berkshires this weekend. Crews will be switching to 12-hour shifts from Sunday through Wednesday to tackle the expected snowfall and icy roads.

“Very dangerous and at times impossible driving conditions are expected,” Morales said. “It's only going to be safer for everyone when there's less people on the road, and at the same time, it's going to be better for the city to maintain and be able to keep up with the snow with less people on the road.”

Casella has cancelled trash and recycling pickup for Monday, according to a Facebook post by the city. Service is scheduled to resume on Tuesday with a one-day delay for the rest of the week.

In Egremont, town officials urged residents to limit time outdoors, dress in layers and stay off the roads unless necessary once the storm begins. The highway department is preparing for up to 2 feet of snow, falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour Sunday night.

The Transfer Station and Recycling Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and closed on Sunday, a one-time change. The Egremont Free Library will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon and closed on Monday, when Town Hall will also be closed.

While lower wind speeds make widespread power outages less likely, residents are encouraged to charge devices, stock up on essentials and check on neighbors who may need help.

As Great Barrington braces for the storm, officials are reminding residents they can pick up buckets of sand at the courthouse, on Meadow Street near the basketball court and at the transfer station.

To help keep plowing and sanding operations smooth, officials also reminded residents that the winter parking ban prohibits parking on public streets from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.

The town has proactively closed all nonessential town offices and programs on Sunday and Monday, including libraries, the senior center, town hall and the Housey Dome. Monday’s Select Board meeting will be held on Zoom.

At a busy market in Adams, cases of bottled water were stacked near the front as shoppers prepared for the winter storm expected to impact millions nationwide, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service and AccuWeather.

Having lived in the Berkshires most of her life, Jeannette Twardowski, 81, is no stranger to snowy winters. What concerns her most this time around are the “horrific winds” forecast to accompany the snow. She'll be staying in to avoid just that, but she didn’t need to stock up on anything to do so.

"I pretty much try to stay prepared all the time," she said, adding that she already keeps enough eggs, milk, fruit juices and other necessities on hand to get by.

She encouraged others to pay attention to the forecast and be mindful of the risks when sidewalks and driveways aren’t properly shoveled.

"And stay prepared as far as the items you may have outside that could be caught in the wind."

Daniel Costa tries to find the right gloves to use as he prepares his property for the incoming winter storm at Carr Hardware in Pittsfield.

Loran Roy, who lives at the Barrett House senior living community in Adams, made a quick trip to the market to pick up meals for the weekend, including pork chops, potato salad and hot dogs — especially with Sunday’s Patriots game on the calendar.

“It’s going to be so cold, I am not leaving my house,” Roy said, adding that he’s grateful he doesn’t have to worry about heating costs or shoveling.

He said the forecast of around a foot of snow didn’t faze him, because while growing up in North Adams, there were winters when parking lots were scattered with huge mounds of snow that often wouldn't melt until April.

"When you got hit, you got hit," he said, adding that it doesn’t snow like that anymore.

In Williamstown, Nova Rockwell said she isn’t too concerned either as she packed up her groceries outside Wild Oats Market.

The North Adams resident grabbed some items to make soup, but otherwise, she said she had what she needed at home.

"It's winter, and we are in the Berkshires," she said. "We can expect this anytime. I just feel fortunate to have a warm house and that I can afford a heating bill."