PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Hours before she was scheduled to board a flight to Switzerland, Governor Raimondo Wednesday canceled her trip to the World Economic Forum because of a winter storm forecast to hit Rhode Island this weekend.

“I was excited to represent RI in Davos, but safety of RI’ers is top priority. We're monitoring winter weather & I've decided to cancel trip” said the tweet from the governor's account.

Raimondo spokeswoman Marie Aberger said the decision was made at the last possible minute to get the most accurate forecast for the storm, which is now expected to arrive Saturday and could produce 8 inches of snow.

Raimondo was scheduled to take a "red-eye" flight to Europe late on Wednesday and stay two nights before returning on Saturday. The prospect of not being in Rhode Island to prepare for the storm and possibly not being able to get back was too great a risk to take, Aberger said.

Raimondo's trip to Switzerland was being financed by the University of Rhode Island Foundation, the public university's nonprofit fundraising arm and use of donations for state business had drawn questions from some connected with the school.

Aberger said the criticism played no part in the governor's decision to cancel the Davos trip.

The governor's office is trying to find out whether any trip expenses can be refunded due to the cancellation, Aberger said. For those that can't, the URI Foundation will be reimbursed for its contribution by Raimondo's campaign account.