A system bearing down on the southeast will bring snow and rain in the season's first taste of complex weather.

The system will also plunge the area back down into the negative temperatures.

Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said the mix in precipitation raises questions for forecasting.

"We had some record-breaking temperatures across southern Saskatchewan yesterday and with temperatures coming towards the 0 mark it makes... trying to forecast what's going to fall and how much... quite complicated."

Rain will hit the southeast Thursday afternoon and switch to snow overnight.

Winds from the north and northwest will cause blowing snow overnight and Friday morning. And that may not be the only challenge for motorists.

"Temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing into the overnight period as the rain changes to snow," said Lang. "So by morning time, temperatures will be below freezing and then continue to drop."

Five to 10 centimetres of snow is forecast. But Lang said you won't have to shovel that much.

"There will be some melting when it first starts snowing and if the temperatures stay around freezing, there will be some melting," said Lang. "So that's one of the complicating factors when you're trying to forecast not only what's going to fall, [but] is it going to be rain, freezing rain, or snow? And then how much is going to fall? With that temperature right around the freezing mark, it really makes things complicated." 

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