The seemingly endless cycle of snow, torrential rain and disruptive weather will continue this weekend as another powerful storm system lashes the central and eastern U.S., with the added threat of a multiday severe weather outbreak.

A rather nasty-looking storm is due to get underway Saturday afternoon, with a mix of snow and ice in the Philly region before transitioning to a heavy rain, perhaps the most significant precipitation the region has received in several weeks.

According to David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, after a lull in the precipitation Thursday afternoon, freezing rain is now expected to start Thursday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. That precipitation should start as freezing rain and transition to snow between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. or so, he said.