So far, 1 to 2 inches of snow has been measured in parts of the region, and, yes, this was not supposed to happen.
The snow should back off in the next hour or two, said Bob Wanton, meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, but it may be too late to save the morning rush.
Mixed precipitation on the light side is expected the rest of the day, and the main event -- heavy snow with an additional 4 to 8 inches -- isn't due to show up until around 5 or 6. Thundersnow remains a possibility.
Wanton said it's going to be close race between the next round and the evening rush.
You don't need to know quadratic equations to figure out that the storm totals around here may end up closer to 6-10 rather than 4-8, given what has occurred this morning.
So what did happen?
The first round of snow was set off by warm air out ahead of the storm, which was still way down in northern Alabama.
Snow forms when warm air rises and condenses. The rising air got a jolt from a strong upper-level jet stream wind. Those winds lift air the way a strong wind lifts smoke coming out a chimney.
The air was forced to rise in such a way that dendrites -- those are the stellar, big flakes that accumulate so nicely -- were able to form.
The results are outside your window.