Mountains to get a shot of winter

Much chillier air is headed for the Charlotte area, but it's the North Carolina mountains that stand to get a taste of wintry weather over the next 24 hours.

A cold front is crossing the state today, pushing away the mild, moist air that has caused cloudiness and well-above-average temperatures for the last two or three days.

In fact, the unofficial morning low at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport was 61 degrees, which is about 25 degrees below average. The warmest-ever low temperature for this date in Charlotte was 60 degrees, set in 1951. That reading probably won't set a record, though, because temperatures will tumble later today.

However, the mild temperatures are coming to an end. Two areas of rain are crossing the Carolinas today, and the cold front will push eastward of the area by early this afternoon. Temperatures will fall from the low and mid 60s Wednesday morning to the mid 50s by late afternoon. And those readings will tumble all the way to near 30 degrees by daybreak Thursday.

The cooler weather will stay through the weekend, with daily highs in the low to mid 50s, just a couple degrees below seasonal averages.

In the mountains, it'll be a different story.

The rain is forecast to change over to snow by this afternoon, accompanied by winds that might gust to 50 mph. No accumulations are expected in lower areas, like Asheville, but the ridge tops of the southern mountains could get an inch. And up to 4 inches could accumulate in the northern mountains.

Neil Dixon, of the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C., said the biggest problem might be black ice. Quickly falling temperatures are expected to freeze the rain that falls this morning, and snow on top of the ice could make roads quite dangerous.

"Widespread black ice will create slick conditions on untreated roads, bridges and overpasses," Dixon said.

The low pressure system responsible for our rain and the mountain snow is expected to dump heavy wet snow on parts of West Virginia, western Maryland and Pennsylvania.