If you want to split it (which could be useful if the format changes) you could use something like:
$parts = preg_split('/-|(?<=\d)(?=[a-z])|(?<=[a-z])(?=\d)/i', $LON);
If the format doesn't change you are better off using something like Mark's answer.
If the format changes slightly you can use a regex match which allows for some variations.