Snow (not accumulating) in Charlotte forecast

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The super storm expected to wallop the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast early next week is being billed by meteorologists as potentially historic, and that might include the Charlotte region -- in the form of snow.

There's no need to get all excited.  We're not talking about a foot of snow on the ground for Halloween.

But the National Weather Service says that when the big storm -- a hybrid of Hurricane Sandy and a mainland low pressure system -- moves across New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania late Monday and early Tuesday,  it could send a mix of rain and snow showers into the Charlotte region.

Several inches of snow are predicted for the North Carolina mountains Monday night and Tuesday morning, with up to 6 inches falling in the higher peaks. Most areas above 3,000 feet could see some accumulating snow from this system.

In addition to the snow and influx of very cold air, circulation around the super storm is expected to be strong enough to cause damaging wind gusts in the high country. A High Wind Watch has been posted for the northwest mountains, where forecasters say sustained northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts to 60 mph, are possible.

That will bring down trees and power lines.

Father south, in the lower altitudes, the nasty weather is expected to develop Monday night, as the super storm moves inland.

Forecasters say a weak low pressure system is predicted to sweep through the region, bringing a chance of precipitation. As of Saturday afternoon, meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C., say the precipitation could fall as snow showers in the hours shortly before and after daybreak Tuesday.

Temperatures would be a few degrees above freezing, but if it snows hard enough for a short time, it could cause a trace of accumulation. And that would be historic.

The earliest measurable snowfall in Charlotte history came on Oct. 31, 1887, when a trace was reported in the city. If a trace were to be measure Tuesday morning, we'd eclipse the record by a day.

Incidentally, it will be breezy here in Charlotte, too.  Meteorologists are thinking now that the storm will make landfall in New Jersey, rather than in Delaware as some earlier forecasts indicated.  A New Jersey landfall would lessen the chances of damaging wind gusts reaching our region, but we'll still likely experience gusts of up to 30 mph Monday night and Tuesday.

The really devastating effects of this storm will be felt north of Charlotte, and we'll be lucky to escape all that. But the storm is strong enough and large enough to affect our weather, several hundred miles away.