How Much Snow Is Expected, Will North Carolina Get? Asheville, Appalachians To Get 'Hit Like a Hammer'; Charlotte, I-85 At Risk

The snowstorm forecast is intensifying for North Carolina, including Asheville and areas to the East of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and predictions now call for many areas of the region to get hammered by up to a foot or more of snow. Some areas could approach two feet of snow, according to the latest forecast, and even Charlotte faces a winter storm warning with "heavy mixed precipitation" expected.

The National Weather Service's latest forecast update for North Carolina and approaching winter storm Diego is for "widespread 12 to 20 inch totals" of snowfall along and east of the Blue Ridge Parkway beginning Saturday and continuing through Monday morning.

Parts of the Charlotte area, including the I-85 corridor, could "see 4 to 6 inches of snow and sleet accumulation" with winds gusting "as high as 35 mph at times," according to the National Weather Service.

When Will Charlotte, NC snow, ice begin?

Snowfall and ice in Charlotte are expected to begin in the overnight hours Saturday (early Sunday morning) at about 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Temperatures may reach 32 degrees and hover a few degrees warmer early Sunday, delivering a mix of sleet, snow, and freezing rain. The southern parts of the Charlotte area could get 2 inches, while further north near I-85 could get the 4 to 6 inches.

Weather Channel forecaster Jim Cantore, expected to report from the North Carolina mountains this weekend, tweeted that this winter storm will hit the region "like a hammer."

A winter storm warning has been issued for the region beginning Saturday at noon Eastern, including Asheville, North Carolina which is forecast to receive a total of 6 to 12 inches or more, according to the latest forecast update from weather.com.

How much snow will North Carolina get today, this weekend from Winter Storm Diego? How much snow will South Carolina and Georgia get? When will the snow start?

Here are today's forecast predictions from the National Weather Service:

--In South Carolina and Georgia mountain locations, "snow and sleet accumulations will range from 3 inches in the southernmost parts to 12 inches or more near the immediate North Carolina border."

--In the southwest mountains of North Carolina, "total snow accumulations will range from 4 to 20 inches."

--In North Carolina east of the Blue Ridge Parkway, "widespread 12 to 20 inch totals likely."

--South and west of the Smoky Mountains, "lesser amounts mainly 3 to 12 inches," will occur.

The National Weather Service said, "travel will be very difficult or even possible" beginning late Saturday afternoon."

The snow is forecast to start in the Asheville, North Carolina area and across Western North Carolina today (Saturday) at about 4 p.m. ET. It will ease up, according to hourly forecasts from weather.com, Sunday afternoon, but likely start back again Sunday night and into the early morning hours Monday.

Already in North Carolina and into Virginia much of the popular Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic trail running through the Appalachian Mountains, has been closed. You can view a real-time Blue Ridge Parkway access and closure map here.

In Asheville, residents are bracing for what could become one of the city's biggest snowfalls ever. Since record keeping in 1869, Asheville has only experienced a dozen snowstorms with accumulations of a foot or more, according to weather.com. The biggest Asheville snowstorm ever was 18.2 inches over three days in March 1993. The biggest December storm occurred in 1971 when 16. 3 inches fell on December 3.

Already, Winter Storm Diego has dumped more than 10.5 inches of snow in Lubbock, Texas. It is expected to spread snow and ice across Northern Arkansas and parts of Tennessee before cranking into blizzard conditions across North Carolina and the Appalachians, with gusty winds, whiteout conditions, and potential record snowfall.