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Ice, rain, and maybe several inches of snow in the mix

What promises to be an adventurous 48 hours of weather is underway with a round of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that iced roads for the evening commute.

What promises to be an adventurous 48 hours of weather is underway with a round of snow, sleet, and freezing rain that iced roads for the evening commute.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 7 p.m. Thursday for 4 to 8 inches of snow, all part of what is being called a complex weather system.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, temperatures were below freezing -- 31 at Philadelphia International Airport -- and as the sun was calling it a day, the weather service warned that icing could worsen.

In addition to the snow watch, the National Weather Service has a winter weather advisory in effect until 1 a.m. Wednesday.

"Untreated surfaces may be come icy," the weather service's advisory says. "Even a light amount of ice could lead to hazardous travel conditions."

That's something motorists on highway such as the Blue Route and its feeder roads have learned the hard way, as they roadways have turned into parking lots.

In advance of the expected poor conditions this afternoon and evening, a handful of districts and private schools already decided to close early or cancel after-school activities. For a complete list of school closings and early dismissals, see http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/school-closings-by-name.

Some roadways in the region already were coated with ice from he weekend's snow and ice, and compacted ice from earllier storms and the persistent cold.

Tuesday morning, before any precipitation had fallen, police attributed some traffic crashes to black ice, including a three-vehicle accident on Tookany Creek Parkway near Ashmead Road in Cheltenham Township that caused multiple injuries and sent an SUV into the creek. None of the injuries in that crash were considered serious, police said.

The weather also has caused problems for some airline travelers, with more than 220 flights to and from Philadelphia International Airport canceled or delayed by late Tuesday morning, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Wednesday is expected to be rainy, though the high temperature is forecasted to reach around 45 degrees, but the precipitation is forecast to turn back to a mix of rain, sleet, and snow, and then become all snow Wednesday night into Thursday.

Forecasters say the snow may continue through Thursday morning, with the potential for several inches of accumulating snowfall.

The spring equinox is 17 days away.

Inquirer staff writer Laura McCrystal contributed to this article.