Another storm forecast for this weekend; this time it's mostly freezing rain, sleet and rain

Unless you're a fan of freezing rain, this weekend's forecast will not be happy news.

One of the strongest low-pressure systems seen this winter in Wisconsin is expected to splatter the area with loads of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow, depending on the location.

Saturday is forecast to be a really wet, drippy day, starting before sunrise and continuing all day and night before petering out perhaps as late as Sunday afternoon in southern Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service.

Add in cold, biting winds and it might be a good weekend to stay indoors.

Rainfall could add up to 1 to 1½ inches, which might not sound like a lot, but it is. Combined with mountainous piles of snow, all that freezing rain could turn streets and sidewalks into rivers.

"It's a hefty rainfall/snowfall mix system that we'll end up seeing," said Aidan Kuroski, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan. 

Because the low-pressure system is projected to push farther north than recent storms, precipitation will likely be mostly rain, freezing rain and sleet. However, central Wisconsin could get snow, though just how much is unclear.

The storm system is moving in from the southwest and as it pushes toward Wisconsin, it's likely to strengthen, Kuroski said.

"It will be one of the stronger low-pressure systems we've had this year. There will be stronger winds, particularly on the back side of this" storm, said Kuroski.

Westerly winds on Sunday are forecast at 20 mph with gusts pushing to 40 to 45 mph along the Lake Michigan shoreline and gusts up to 35 mph elsewhere in southern Wisconsin. Saturday night is also expected to be windy, with 15 mph winds and gusts of 20 to 25 mph.

Precipitation is expected to show up in the metro Milwaukee area between midnight and 6 a.m. Saturday, with a chance for snow early before switching over to freezing rain and sleet and then all rain, Kuroski said.

The forecast calls for temperatures in southeastern Wisconsin in the upper 30s Saturday, dropping down to around 30 overnight into Sunday morning. Highs on Sunday are expected to be in the low to mid-30s.

Then temperatures will likely drop early Monday, with lows ranging from upper single digits to low teens.

"There are concerns about flooding. This will depend on whether there's any ice standing on some of the rivers," said Kuroski, adding that there have been few reports of ice dams on rivers. "But the large degree of melting will play a large role in any flooding on top of the rain we’re expecting."