Butler County saw its first winter weather advisory of the season with more winter conditions expected for the weekend while local residents dealt with power outages Thursday.

Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said Butler County will see a mixture of freezing rain, snow and sleet until the advisory is rescinded around 1 a.m. Friday.

The winter storm left many Butler County residents in the dark Thursday, with many of the outages taking place south of Route 422; one of the largest, according to West Penn Power, is in the city of Butler, where as many as 1,500 customers are without electricity.

“It’s all weather related,” said West Penn spokesman Todd Meyers. “We’re going to have an up-and-down kind of day but crews are out there working.”

He estimated that as of 7 p.m. Thursday, more than 3,000 West Penn customers in Butler County were without power.

Hendricks said the mixture is accompanied by strong winds between 10 and 13 mph.

“This storm is coming out of the south,” Hendricks said. “It's a fairly broad shield of precipitation at the head of the system that is currently heading up the Ohio Valley.”

On Friday, temperatures should warm up, but winds between 9 and 15 mph will blow throughout the day, according to Hendricks. He said there is a chance of rain or snow showers Friday night.

Hendricks said Saturday will be the mildest day of the weekend with a forecast of mostly cloudy and highs near 36 degrees. The county could see a return of snow Sunday with a range of 30 to 40 percent chance.

Hendricks said people driving in conditions like the storm Thursday should leave earlier and take their time on their drives.

“Give yourself time and watch your speed,” he said. “Be very alert of your surroundings in case someone else happens to have a problem.”

Read Friday's Butler Eagle to find out what maintenance crews did to treat the road Thursday.