Slushy precipitation in the form of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is expected tonight into Thursday morning.

The primary risk for a wintry mix is expected to start later this evening, according to Brandon Buckingham, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

Buckingham said it looks like the onset is likely between 9 and midnight tonight and could pick up in intensity before dawn Thursday morning.

He said they are watching temperatures at the surface and just above the surface to see what type of precipitation we could see at the onset of the storm.

“If temperatures are a little colder than expected, it could start as snow before mixing with sleet and freezing rain,” Buckingham said. “Or it could start primarily right as ice at the onset.”

He said the storm will continue during the overnight hours and through midday on Thursday before we begin to see it taper off.

Overall, Buckingham said it looks like the storm will produce anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow, and around one-tenth or so of an inch of ice across much of Eastern Pennsylvania.

“Combining that with the timing of things tonight into tomorrow morning, definitely makes for a slushy, slippery, messy commute for Thursday morning,” he said.

Buckingham said conditions should begin to dry out and the precipitation is largely expected to be done by around noon Thursday, with temperatures expected to rise above freezing by the afternoon.

While improvements are expected as we head toward the evening commute on Thursday, Buckingham cautioned motorists not to have a false sense of security, and added that travel is not advised during the peak impact of this storm late tonight through the early morning hours on Thursday.

“A lot of times in this icing, chains on tires is really the only effective way to traverse freezing rain,” he said. “Standard cars, trucks, semis, are really no match when you put freezing rain on the roadways unless they are heavily treated.”

Buckingham noted that another bout of snow and freezing rain could be in the cards over the weekend.

He said it almost looks like the atmospheric setup is fairly similar to that of tonight’s storm system.

Buckingham said to be on the lookout for Saturday afternoon through about midday Sunday to Sunday afternoon for a storm that could produce very similar impacts across the area.

He said as we progress to Saturday night and Sunday morning, we could definitely see those conditions deteriorate, and added that Sunday might not be a great day to travel either.