It’s been 34 years since Beaufort County saw a White Christmas. Take a look back
It’s too early to say for certain whether rain will dampen Christmas. But it’s clear that Beaufort County will go another year without a White Christmas.
By now, longtime locals should be used to it.
They haven’t seen the county blanketed in snow on Christmas Day for over three decades. In 1989, nearly 7 inches inches fell. It was enough snow that some people whipped out skis and glided along the glistening white roads. Such phenomena hadn’t happened in over 15 years.
A snowstorm walloped Hilton Head Island with 6.4 inches following Valentine’s Day in 1973. The onslaught was considered record-breaking at the time.
Most recently in January 2018, a historic winter storm blanketed beaches with snow and palmettos were dusted in icy white. Between 3 and 5 inches covered Hilton Head.
But beyond three notable events, snow days in the Lowcountry are few and far between. In over five decades, the state Department of Natural Resources recorded fewer than 10 snow fall instances in Beaufort. And its chance of snow each year is the lowest in South Carolina, sitting at 9%.
Light dustings flurried through the county in 1985, 1986, 2010 and 2014, according to Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reports.
While the county will go on its 34th consecutive year without a White Christmas, it could be pelted with a different weather woe.
Emily McGraw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Charleston Office, said Wednesday that it’s still early to know whether the Lowcountry will be rain-soaked on Christmas Day. On Wednesday, McGraw said there was a 50% chance Beaufort County could see between 3/4 and 1.5 inches of rain accumulation on the holiday.
For the snowbirds, there is a silver lining. Christmas Day’s high temperature will climb into the mid-60s, and the evening air will cool only a few degrees lower.
This story was originally published December 20, 2023 at 3:47 PM.
