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Driving in freezing rain, Act 2, likely Wednesday morning

The good news is that the afternoon commute looks much more manageable than this morning's icy mess that saw some serious accidents, including a deadly one in Burlington County.

Because of cars skidding out of control, Ditman Street near Levick was closed in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia during the morning rush Tuesday morning. (Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer)
Because of cars skidding out of control, Ditman Street near Levick was closed in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia during the morning rush Tuesday morning. (Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer)Read more

The good news is that the afternoon commute looks much more manageable than this morning's icy mess that saw some serious accidents, including a deadly one in Burlington County.

"This afternoon should be not be that bad - light drizzle, light freezing drizzle, or nothing at all," so the salt on treated roads should keep them relatively clear, said meteorologist Anthony Gigi of the National Weather Service.

The bad news is that conditions on Wednesday morning could be worse, especially north and west of the city, as the second wave of a cross-country storm brings more freezing rain - and flight cancellations.

As much as two-thirds of an inch of ice could build up in some areas, raising a serious threat of downed limbs and wires, and outages.

How much will cling to branches and powerlines is tough to call, Gigi said.

Less of a threat is posed to the city and areas south and east, including Delaware County and South Jersey. A mix of rain and freezing rain is more likely, with freezing rain changing over to plain rain in the city during the Wednesday morning rush, Gigi said.

Under similar conditions this morning - light freezing rain following light snow - traffic moved steadily on major roads, but problems still occurred.

About 8:30 a.m., a tractor trailer slid out, hopped a couple of guardrails and came to rest perpendicular to I-95 near Philadelphia International Airport, blocking a set of southbound lanes for about an hour and a half.

A car reportedly overturned on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, and Martin Luther King Drive was closed for at least a half-hour because of iciness at Montgomery Avenue.

Suburban and rural areas witnessed worse.

A Lumberton man died in a crash on Route 537 in Springfield, Burlington County, about 6:06 this morning. Codi Rocha, 21, was heading eastbound in a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado, when he tried to pass another vehicle and lost control, striking a guardrail and a tree, according to state police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Earlier, a jackknifed tractor trailer blocked all northbound lanes of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Lansdale. Cars reportedly overturned in New Castle, Del., and Salem County, N.J.

Many schools, mostly north and west of Philadelphia, opened late, although at least a half-dozen districts were closed in Montgomery and Berks Counties. Among them: Methacton, Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford Area, Upper Perkioman, Boyertown, Kutztown and Daniel Boone Area.

More than 200 flights were canceled for today in and out of Philadelphia, mostly because of weather conditions in other cities, according to airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica.

President Obama postponed his visit to Penn State because of the weather, rescheduling for Thursday instead of Wednesday.

Another storm is expected Friday night into Saturday, but the likely possibilities are snow and rain, not freezing rain, Gigi said.

Traffic: www.philly.com/traffic.

Forecast: http://go.philly.com/weather.

Flights: www.phl.org, 1-800-745-4283, or contact individual airlines.