Suffolk could experience “near-blizzard” conditions Tuesday and into Wednesday with snow accumulations possibly exceeding eight inches, city spokeswoman Diana Klink has warned.

With a National Weather Service winter storm warning in effect for the city from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 1 p.m. Wednesday, residents can anticipate accumulations of four to eight inches, Klink said.

“However, higher accumulations are a possibility,” she added.

On the bright side, Tuesday’s commute was not expected to be an issue, Klink said, with less than two inches forecast through 7 p.m.

With rain not expected before the snow falls, city crews can more effectively prepare roads than they were able to do last week, she said. The city plans to pre-treat roads with a brine solution, because it won’t be washed away.

“This event will be different than last week’s,” Klink said, adding 22 trucks with snowplows and spreading equipment would be on the roads.

But despite the preparations, she said, motorists could still expect treacherous conditions, as approaching frigid temperatures turn melting snow on the asphalt to ice.

Klink, as well as the National Weather Service, advised only driving in the case of an emergency, and stocking vehicles with an extra flashlight, food and water.

A high of 26 degrees is predicted for Tuesday, dipping to 20 degrees on Tuesday night.

Wednesday is predicted to warm up to only 28 degrees, before dropping to 10 degrees that night. Temperatures will feel significantly lower with wind chill, Klink said.

Indicating Suffolk could be in for conditions on the more extreme end of the scale, predictions have been worsening. Earlier in the day on Monday, Bridget De Rosa, a National Weather Service meteorologist at the Wakefield forecast office, had predicted an accumulation of three to four inches by Wednesday afternoon.

“Snowfall rates should intensify during Tuesday night, then start to taper off through Wednesday morning, with some lingering snow through Wednesday afternoon,” De Rosa said.

The city will update its website to keep residents up to date on predicted changes in conditions in as timely a manner as possible, Klink said.

“Stay off the roads unless it’s an emergency,” she urged. She stressed to bring pets indoors, check on the elderly, and drip faucets to prevent frozen water pipes.

Last weekend, Public Utilities responded to more than 50 calls for broken water pipes because of last week’s frigid temperatures, according to a city news release.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is also pre-treating interstates and primary routes, according to a news release.

Equipment and personnel will be ready to treat roads and remove snow beginning at noon Tuesday. The first focus of crews will be snow-removal from interstates and primary roads, VDOT stated, and crews will shift to secondary roads later.

VDOT says it immediately moved to replenish treatment supplies after last week’s storm, for which more than 12,000 tons of salt were used to remove ice and snow in Hampton Roads.

Expecting an increased use of home heating systems to tax the grid, Dominion Virginia Power called on customers to help reduce the pressure by conserving energy, especially between 6 and 10 a.m. and 5 and 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The company said it expects it will be able to meet the increased demand, with all of its electric generating units set to run “at maximum levels.”