Now is the time to get ready for another winter blast.

Bitter cold temperatures combined with snow and sleet will cause plenty of problems for Wilson and much of North Carolina this weekend.

N.C. Department of Transportation workers were working early Wednesday prepping equipment, loading supplies and brining the roads. Wilson city crews were also preparing for the storm.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch that will take effect Thursday evening and run through Saturday morning. Rain is expected to move into Wilson late Thursday morning and early afternoon, forecasters said. The front is expected to come through Thursday night.

“The bulk of the wintry precipitation will be Friday and Friday night,” said Tom Green, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

Sleet and snow are expected all day Friday and after midnight, officials said. Wilson could see several inches of snow.

Temperatures will drop Thursday night to 25 degrees with wind chill values as low as 18 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Friday’s high will only reach 29 degrees with a low of 22 degrees.

“Saturday should be dry,” Green said.

Saturday’s high is expected to be just above freezing temperatures with a low in the teens.