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Forecasts have called for accumulating snow and ice in Greenville and throughout the Upstate overnight Saturday through Sunday. That means the time to prepare is now.

The elderly and the needy beyond your own household might need attention.

Prescriptions should be filled, and any medication that could be needed over an extended period of time, for a worst-case scenario, should be gathered.

Once the storm hits, avoid travel if possible.

Beforehand, though, there's more you can do. Here are ways that experts say you should prepare for winter storms like the one expected in South Carolina this weekend. 

Here's what the South Carolina Emergency Management Division and other experts recommend:

What we expect this weekend:Snow is forecast for SC as confidence grows, but wintry mix could come in winter storm

If your power goes out, you can report the outage by calling Duke Energy at 800-769-3766.

Do not touch power lines or anything touching them, and keep others away until help arrives.

Duke Energy is preparing to respond to possible power outages and will have more information in the following days as the forecast changes, according to spokesperson Ryan Mosier.

"Duke Energy has service crew workers, line technicians and other storm personnel available across the Carolinas service regions to respond to power outages that may occur this weekend, once conditions are safe," Mosier wrote in an email. 

Depending on the weather's impact, Duke Energy can bring in additional workers from its Southeast utilities or enlist help from other utilities across the country, according to Mosier. 

If you'd like to receive text alerts about outages and when restoration is expected, text REG to 57801*. If you'd like to receive email or call alerts, visit duke-energy.com/outages/alerts.

To view reported outages, visit duke-energy.com/outages.

If your power does go out, here's what Duke Energy recommends you do:

Greenville County Schools will post information about closures on its website, greenville.k12.sc.us. You can also follow the school district's social media pages on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter where updates will be posted, or you can call the school's info line at 355-3100.

The Greenville News and local television and radio stations will also report closures. 

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Greenville County Schools has the option to switch to eLearning days if road or weather conditions threaten safety. When possible, a decision about closing is made late afternoon or early evening for the following day. If a decision cannot be made the previous day, district officials and the schools' Inclement Conditions Evaluation team will start evaluating at 4 a.m.

Decisions to delay, dismiss early or switch to eLearning are often district-wide. Reasons why Greenville County Schools might make this decision can be found on the district's website. 

In the event of snow and ice, avoid travel if possible. Main roads that are more heavily traveled will be tended to more frequently than more residential or rural roads.

Road closures will be listed on the South Carolina Department of Transportation's traffic conditions map.

To keep up with the weather, the National Weather Service updates its local Twitter account frequently at @NWSGSP.

The organization advises Greenville County residents to know the difference between a winter storm watch, advisory and warning.

A winter storm watch means it's time to get prepared because heavy snow, sleet or freezing rain is possible.

If an advisory is issued, delay or adjust your travel plans until conditions are cleared. This means that heavy snow, sleet or freezing rain is expected.

A winter storm warning means confidence is high that a winter storm will produce heavy snow, sleet or freezing rain.

SCEMD recommends the following if a winter storm occurs:

Genna Contino covers Greenville County and housing for The Greenville News. Contact Genna at gcontino@gannett.com or on Twitter @GennaContino. Subscribe to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.