BRISTOL, Wis. — As Wisconsin braces for another round of severe winter weather this week, county highway departments and energies companies are all gearing up as well.

Kenosha County Highway Commissioner Clement Abongwa is tracking the upcoming winter storm.

“We are expecting the freezing rain in the evening but this is our concern now, the sleet,” said Abongwa.

After a mild start to the winter for Southeast Wisconsin, the month of February has seemingly made up for lost time.

Abongwa said dealing with sleet and freezing rain can sometimes be trickier than the snow because you can’t plan as far ahead.

“Whatever application you are doing at that time, the rain can easily wash away so you really have to time it right," said Abongwa.

The highway commissioner also assured that their trucks have the salt they need before they head out to the roads.

“The ones that are parked here are the ones that already have salt in them and they are ready to go,” said Abongwa.

WE Energies is making sure they have enough work crews and trucks equipped to respond to any potential outages.

Spokesperson Amy Jahns said they are also concerned about how ice and wind could affect southern parts of the state.

“When it builds up on the trees and branches, it can cause those to get heavy, break and come into contact with our power lines and causing that power outage and the same thing when it builds up on power lines, it can also cause a power outage so we are definitely watching that. Wind can cause the same thing,” said Jahns.

Jahns also said the most important thing is that WE Energies customers report outages by phone at 800-662-4797, app or their website.

“Be prepared to contact us because we don’t always know that a power outage is occurring, so having those already to the go to make those reports for us will definitely help us respond quicker,” said Jahns.

For Abongwa, it’s important to stay up to date because he knows forecasts can change from moment to moment.

“We are the pre first responders. Most people don’t know about us as the first responders. If we are not there to clean the road or to make sure the road is comfortable and drivable, even the first responders will not be able to get where they need to go,” said Abongwa.

Abongwa wants to assure motorists they are prepared to keep the roads safe to drive during this winter storm.