Lehigh Valley weather: Fog could make for hazardous driving on last day of 2022 (UPDATE)

The Lehigh Valley region started the last day of 2022 under a dense fog advisory from the National Weather Service.

It’s in effect until 6 pm Saturday, warning of visibility of a quarter-mile or less.

“Hazardous driving conditions due to low visibility,” the advisory for Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Monroe counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren and Sussex counties in northwestern New Jersey states.

The weather service forecast for Lehigh Valley International Airport says areas of fog could stick around until about 3 pm, with an 80% change of rain showers arriving mainly after 2 pm The threat of showers continues until about midnight, with more patchy fog in the forecast after 7 p.m. in the area of ​​the airport outside Allentown.

Citing concerns about the weather forecast, the Lehigh Valley Zoo announced its Winter Lights Spectacular is canceled for Saturday, Dec. 31. The event is scheduled to reopen on its next and final scheduled date, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. This is already the seventh cancellation of the event in 2022 after only one postponement in the prior year, the zoo said. Those who purchased tickets will receive an email with rescheduling information, according to the announcement.

The National Weather Service forecasts an overcast, rainy and foggy end to 2022 but with unseasonably moderate temperatures across the Lehigh Valley region.National Weather Service

Temperatures are forecast at an unseasonably moderate high in the low 50s both Saturday for New Year’s Eve and on Sunday as 2023 arrives, according to the weather service forecast at LVIA. The overnight low into Sunday is forecast around 43, as skies clear ahead of a mostly sunny Sunday. The normal high and low temperatures for this time of year in the Lehigh Valley are 40 and 24.

Winds are forecast as calm becoming easterly at around 5 mph Saturday, then shifting to out of the south and west at 5 to 10 mph after midnight but with gusts as high as 20 mph. Sunday’s winds are forecast out of the west at 10 to 15 mph

After a mostly cloudy Sunday night, partly sunny skies and daytime highs in the low 50s stick around Monday for the observed New Year’s Day holiday, with a chance for showers returning Tuesday, the weather service says.

Stay up-to-date with National Weather Service advisories for our region at weather.gov/phi, and visit lehighvalleylive.com/weather for your complete local hourly and five-day forecast from AccuWeather, plus radar.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at [email protected].