Butler County saw its first winter weather advisory of the season with more winter conditions expected over the weekend.

Lee Hendricks, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said Butler County saw a mixture of freezing rain, snow and sleet starting early Thursday morning.

Hendricks said the mixture was accompanied by 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.”

The storm caused multiple schools in the county to close afternoon kindergarten classes and evening activities Thursday, including Butler County Vocation-Technical School, which closed its third session and adult evening classes.

On Friday, temperatures should warm, 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 30 to 40 percent chance.

“(Sunday’s) snow will be from winds coming across the Northeast Great Lakes,” Hendricks said. “It’s the Great Lake effect.”

Hendricks said people driving in winter conditions should leave earlier and take their time.

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

Brent Piccola, PennDOT Butler County assistant maintenance manager, said road crews were out during the early morning Thursday to treat the roads.

“It probably started around 5 a.m., the freezing rain,” Piccola said. “We were kind of holding our own there until around 7 a.m. when traffic picked up.”

Piccola said road surfaces were treated Thursday, but his crews remained on the roads into the night. He said they are paying attention to calls for snow this weekend, too.

“It’s the time of the year,” Piccola said. “We’ve always got to be ready for it.”

In Cranberry Township, Jason Dailey, public works director, said crews pretreated roads with brine Wednesday, which helped soften the blow of Thursday’s icy conditions.

Dailey said crews were held over to address any accumulation that could impact the evening commute.

While Thursday’s weather was the first of its kind this season, Dailey said the township’s team of workers has been preparing. He said workers “go their separate ways” after winter ends, addressing various other projects and areas. He said crews reconvene in the fall and review policies, procedures and any new measures that may be implemented for the upcoming season.

This year, that preparation includes updated safety videos and a change in the way trucks are filled with brine, which Dailey said is more rapidly applied than solids.

“These are all things to be prepared for,” he said.

Crews also conduct “dry runs” in which they travel roads and look for any obstructions, such as basketball hoops, hockey nets or parked cars. They also look for overgrown trees and drainage issues.

Once that information is collected, township officials contact homeowners in areas where issues could arise, and also trim trees and do other general maintenance to make sure once snow and ice start flying, they can treat roads as quickly as possible.

“It’s all part of the planning we put into it,” he said.