Freezing rain, snow expected to bring icy roads Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning in Milwaukee
According to the National Weather Service forecast, flurries or light snow could begin around 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Milwaukee. However, peak precipitation is expected to fall in the evening hours through early Thursday morning.
"We're going to emphasize that this (freezing drizzle) is going to be rather light for the Milwaukee area," said Milwaukee-Sullivan NWS meteorologist JJ Wood. "It's going to be mainly this evening, starting about 7 or 8 p.m., going until maybe 2 or 3 a.m. It then should be tapered off completely between about 3 and 5 a.m."
The Milwaukee area will mainly see freezing drizzle with "a little light snow mixed in at times," he continued. Wood said area residents should expect up to "a couple of hundredths of an inch" of ice accumulation and "maybe a tenth of an inch of snow."
This could create slick and icy driving conditions, especially on untreated roads and elevated surfaces like bridges and overpasses into the early Thursday morning commute. Wood said these conditions should no longer pose a threat by mid-day Thursday as temperatures warm to the upper 30s.
High winds are expected Thursday afternoon and evening. In Milwaukee, Wood said sustained winds between 25 and 30 mph with gusts up to 40 or 45 mph are possible.
Greater snow and ice accumulations are possible with this system in other areas of the state. Central Wisconsin should see "steadier light snow" while the northern portion of the state could see moderate snow totals, Wood said.
"In the northern half of the state, you could see anywhere from 1 to maybe 3 inches. In the far northwest part, it's more like 3 to 4 inches," he continued.
NWS provides these safety tips for those driving during freezing drizzle conditions:
Slow down
Don't use cruise control
Leave plenty of distance between you and other vehicles
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Freezing rain to bring slick road conditions Wednesday in Milwaukee

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