Dangerous Fog, Icy Weekend Ahead In Philly Area: Forecast

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Forecasters are warning residents in the greater Philadelphia area Wednesday morning of icy roads due to freezing fog, making visibility during the morning commute difficult. An icy weekend is also on tap for the region as mixed precipitation, with freezing rain possibly leading to sleet, continuing into Friday night.

“Patchy freezing fog early this morning may result in local icy spots on untreated surfaces. Use caution while driving and walking early this morning,” the National Weather Service Mount Holly station tweeted.

A dense fog advisory is now in effect for most of the region until 11 a.m.

“Slow down on the roads this morning, as we've seen many accounts of greatly reduced visibility, and observations indicate visibility is less than a quarter mile in some places,” the agency said.

Hazardous road conditions are anticipated to continue through the rest of the week, according to the weather service, as temperatures are expected to plummet Thursday night into Friday with rain switching over to ice and snow for a “prolonged period” in parts of the region.

“There is an increasing chance now that the rain changes to some freezing rain, sleet and/or snow into the I-95 corridor and possibly to the coast,” the National Weather Service said in a forecast discussion Wednesday morning.

Precipitation is expected to end Friday evening, the agency said.

In other weather-related news, the country's premier Groundhog Day celebrity, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted whether or not we’ll have to endure six more weeks of winter this morning. Read more: Groundhog Day 2022: Did Punxsutawney Phil See His Shadow?

Here is the latest forecast:

Wednesday

Areas of dense fog before noon. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.

Wednesday night

A chance of rain, mainly after 3am. Patchy fog before 10pm, then patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 37. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday
A chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 50. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Thursday night

Rain. Low around 39. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Friday

Rain before 4pm, then a chance of sleet. High near 45. North wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no sleet accumulation expected.

Friday night

A chance of sleet before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 30.

Saturday night

Mostly clear, with a low around 17.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Sunday night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 24.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Nicole Rosenthal