Caldwell County could be in store for another blast of wintry weather.

Forecasts for this area from the National Weather Service in Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., indicate that a low pressure system coming from the Gulf of Mexico is expected to merge with an Arctic high pressure system making its way through the Ohio Valley. When those systems meet, snow will be the result.

"Those two coming together will create this weather system," NWS Meteorologist Scott Krentz said. "The low pressure system has more than enough force to bring precipitation to the area, and the colder air combining with it will generate some snow."

The systems are expected to merge as the weekend approaches, probably on Friday. Early forecasts indicate a 70 percent chance of snow Friday, probably starting early in the afternoon. Krentz said the snow will be at its heaviest overnight Friday and into Saturday morning. The chance of snow overnight is 80 percent, with a 60 percent chance Saturday, mainly before 1 p.m. It is expected to taper off Saturday, and mostly sunny conditions are expected Sunday.

Krentz said the foothills areas can expect 2-4 inches of snowfall from the system, while the higher elevations could get 6-8 inches. He cautioned, however, that the snow accumulation could be more, maybe less, based on the amount of precipitation the low pressure system generates.

"It's one of those systems that could change quickly," he said. "The amounts could go up or down, but it pretty much will be all snow."

Krentz indicated that freezing rain and sleet are not expected to be associated with the system, though there could be a short-lived period as the precipitation begins. No accumulation of freezing rain or sleet is expected.

While early forecasts are not showing the same type of significant snowfall the area received the week before Christmas, the storm is following a similar path as the one that dumped nearly a foot of snow in Caldwell County Dec. 18-19, 2009.

"It's really the same type of setup as the last major system," Krentz said. "The potential certainly is there for it to produce similar amounts (of snowfall)."

The mountains of western North Carolina already have been hit by a system this week. Watauga, Avery, Ashe, Mitchell and Yancey counties were pelted with heavy snow Tuesday and will get ready for another round this weekend. The mountain areas were hit hard by snow in mid-December and had to deal with a nasty ice storm during the Christmas weekend.

One major change associated with this weather system will be the rapid decline of temperatures. After several days of highs in the 50s, Caldwell County will be experiencing quite a dip as daytime highs will plummet into the low- to mid-30s. In fact, daytime highs for January average 46 degrees, and temperatures through at least Sunday will be 10-15 degrees colder.

Friday's high is expected to be 35 with an overnight low of 26. The high Saturday will be in the upper 20s before falling into he upper teens overnight. Sunday's daytime high only is expected to climb into the mid-30s. With those temperatures much colder, there's a great likelihood that the snow on the ground could linger for some time, just as the previous wintry precipitation did.

"It may be around for a while, especially if we get a lot of it," Krentz said.