A winter wonderland came to Hilton Head. Here’s what it was like
Snow coated Hilton Head Island’s streets, walkways and parks Sunday morning, a rare sight in a vacation destination known for its beaches and golf courses.
Sunshine slowly started to melt the white fluff that accumulated on the roof of Coligny Plaza around 9 a.m. Snow on the roof slowly turned into water, and raindrops fell from the shopping center’s roof onto the pavement.
It was cold, in the low-to-mid 20s, but people were outside, walking their dogs, strolling along the beach and grabbing a cup of coffee or groceries. By 12:30 p.m., the temperature on the island reached 30 degrees.
It was the second time in two years that the Hilton Head area saw snow. Last year, the island got about 3 inches; early Sunday reports estimate snow totaled 2 inches on Hilton Head, 1.9 inches in Beaufort and 3.5 inches near Port Royal. Local officials are asking people to stay off the roads, and black ice is possible later in the day.
On Sunday, the walkway to Coligny Beach was coated with snow. There were footprints on the pathway, but the sand itself looked untouched, and ocean waves roared in like a summer day. It was almost like someone forgot to tell the ocean there was a big storm the night before. Palm trees towering over Coligny Beach Park were also spared from white flakes.
Walking along the beach in the morning were Emily Zimmerman and Angel del Valle, who have lived on the island for 17 years. They live within walking distance of Coligny, and Zimmerman said she walks the beach about five days a week.
Sunday was “beautiful,” she said, although del Valle said he was disappointed to see there was no snow on the sand itself.
Chad Albrent, a construction worker from central Wisconsin, also decided to check out Coligny for the first time on Sunday. He’s in town helping build a middle school for about a month; as of Sunday, he’d been here for two-and-a-half weeks. He tried to go to South Beach, but opted for Coligny instead because his first choice was closed off.
“I don’t like it right now,” Albrent said of the weather. “I live in the cold, so I came here to work so I actually could be warm.”
South Beach wasn’t the only spot on the island closed to the public. Harbour Town was closed on Sunday, according to a guard at the Sea Pines gate. Sea Pines was not allowing visitors to buy guest passes Feb. 1.
Wesley Totin and Puddles, his American Eskimo, were out for a walk around Coligny Plaza Sunday morning. Totin said he usually walks to Sweet Al’s Cafe in the mornings, either with Puddles or his seemingly identical brother, Pampers.
Totin said he’s in Hilton Head for three or four months every year for the “warm weather.” But on Sunday, his wife, who is in Chicago, told him the “feels like” temperature was just as cold on the island as it was in the Midwest metropolis.
Puddles didn’t seem to mind, though. The fluffy white dog walked confidently on the sidewalk with his dad, as if he was having the time of his life.
This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 1:16 PM.