After a brief hiatus, winter is expected to return in full force tonight with a one-two punch that starts off as snow and ends in freezing rain.

A winter storm watch is in effect from late tonight into late Tuesday night, and could produce anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow, according to Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

“It looks like a real mess heading our way,” Kines said. “We’ll see snow coming in tonight and continue into the early part of tomorrow, before it changes over to sleet and freezing rain.”

Kines said that before the changeover occurs, we could see anywhere from 3-6 inches of snow.

“But, then you’ve got more problems during the day tomorrow where freezing rain could be causing issues and sleet as well,” he said.

If motorists have to travel this evening, Kines cautioned they do so earlier rather than later.

“If you’ve got to be out traveling during this — it certainly is not advised — if you have to, you have to take it easy,” he said.

“We get rid of one bad aspect of the storm, but there’s another one that hits us later,” he said.

Kines said the storm is expected to move out Tuesday night, and the sun is expected to come out on Wednesday, though it will be a very windy day.

“The temperature should get above freezing Wednesday, whereas tomorrow, it’s going to hover right around the freezing mark most of the day,” he said.

Kines said the temperature is expected to drop below freezing Wednesday night.

“If you still have some slush to move, you should move it,” he said.

Kines said he expects a “decent day” on Thursday, with temperatures in the lower 40s, before rain moves in during the daytime on Friday and leaves sometime Saturday.

He said this storm could be similar of the storm on Jan. 29, when the bulk of the county received 4-6 inches of snow.

With that storm, cooler temperatures presented plenty of challenges for motorists.

“I suspect snowfall-wise, 3-6 inch range,” Kines said. “I suspect there will be more ice involved in this storm.”