Mount Pocono, PA – Slippery road conditions will develop by midnight as freezing rain coats bridges and untreated surfaces across the Poconos and northwest New Jersey, with impacts peaking before the Friday morning commute.
According to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect from 7 p.m. Thursday until 12 p.m. Friday for Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Sussex County, New Jersey. Ice accumulations between 0.10 and 0.20 inches are expected, with isolated totals approaching 0.25 inches on elevated surfaces. Snow and sleet totals will remain under 1 inch.
Even a tenth of an inch of ice creates dangerous travel.
Freezing rain will mix with light snow overnight, especially along Interstate 80 from Stroudsburg to Delaware Water Gap and along Route 15 and Route 206 in Sussex County. PennDOT and the New Jersey Department of Transportation crews are treating primary highways, but secondary roads and neighborhood streets may turn slick before sunrise. Visibility could drop below one mile at times in mist and drizzle.
The greatest travel impacts are expected between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday. School delays and scattered power outages are possible where ice clings to tree limbs and utility lines.
Residents should avoid unnecessary travel before daybreak and allow extra stopping distance on untreated roads.
Rain continues into late Friday morning before tapering by early afternoon. Another storm system may approach Sunday, though timing and precipitation type remain uncertain. The Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until midday Friday.
