Meteorologist Joe Calderone of the National Weather Service drew in a breath as he considered the weekend’s forecast.

“OK, this is going to be a long conversation,” said Calderone on Thursday.

Uh-oh.

We’ll sum up our chat for you: The ice from this weekend’s predicted wintry mix could make travel hazardous and sidewalks slippery.

“Exactly,” Calderone said.

Be careful out there, please, if you are out and about on holiday errands and activities, from stringing lights in your yard to hitting the roads. This warning includes not only the Twin Cities, but south to the Iowa border and points east as well.

For up-to-the-minute road conditions from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, including views from traffic cameras and plows, log onto 511mn.org.

Now, let’s talk cold.

Wednesday, as you might recall, was chilly — really chilly, especially at 11:59 p.m., when we hit a milestone not many Minnesotans enjoy reaching.

“Wednesday’s low of -5 was the first official zero (or lower) low of the season for MSP (the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport),” Calderone said.

It wasn’t much warmer on Thursday, with a high of 6 degrees in the metro (with the low still incoming as we write this sentence).

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Friday will be comparatively warmer, with temperatures rising into the teens as clouds increase and a storm system approaches.

“It will be a wintry mix,” Calderone says. “It will start before sunrise (Saturday) as a sleet/snow mix, transitioning to freezing rain right around sunrise. Then, around noon on Saturday, it will transition back to mostly snow, with precipitation ending Saturday afternoon into the evening.”

And accumulation?

“Less than an inch, maybe half an inch,” says Calderone. “The bigger issue is the ice. … It will become a travel hazard, for sure.”

The weather will calm down for the latter half of the weekend.

“The system moves out by Saturday night,” Calderone says. “It’ll be mostly cloudy on Sunday, with highs into the mid 30s.”