Snow in part of South, but not for us

In a mild winter like the one we're experiencing, even the mention of "snow" is a big deal.

Snow is falling in parts of the South today. More is expected tonight. But it won't happen in the Charlotte region.

There are several reasons, but the biggest is timing. A low pressure system which is causing the inclement weather across parts of the Mid-South today will not reach the Charlotte area until after daybreak Tuesday. By that time, temperatures are expected to be several degrees above freezing.

Anything that falls will fall as rain.

But it's the closest call so far this winter -- a winter which seems headed for a spot in the record books among the all-time mildest.

Before the weekend cold snap, Charlotte was on pace for one of the five mildest winters on record. In fact, it's been that way across nearly all the eastern half of the United States. There hasn't even been a trace of wintry precipitation in Charlotte.

A low pressure system is moving eastward out of Texas. Winter storm warnings are posted in parts of Arkansas, and a wide swath of the South -- from near Memphis, across northern Louisiana, northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, northwest Georgia, and parts of Tennessee -- are under winter weather advisories.

About an inch or two of snow and sleet are expected in that corridor later today.

In addition, a winter weather advisory has been posted by the local National Weather Service office (in Greer, S.C.) for parts of northeast Georgia and southwest North Carolina for tonight. An inch of snow and sleet is possible in that area, which includes Bryson City, Franklin and Sylva.

Rodney Hinson, of the Weather Service's office in Greer, said it's possible that a bit of sleet could fall briefly to the west of Charlotte -- we're talking about Shelby, Lincolnton and Morganton -- when the precipitation starts there around daybreak Tuesday.

But in Charlotte, temperatures are expected to be a couple degrees above freezing when the precipitation arrives.

Two other factors are working against the possibility of snow or sleet in Charlotte.

The strong high pressure system responsible for our cold weekend weather has pumped very, very dry air into the western Carolinas. It will take a long time Tuesday for precipitation to moisten the atmosphere and reach the ground. If the atmosphere weren't so dry, the precipitation would start earlier -- when temperatures were colder.

In addition, the storm system is forecast to weaken as it moves toward the Carolinas. Precipitation will be lighter when it reaches the Charlotte area.

And after Tuesday morning, a milder trend will take command for the rest of the week.