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by WILL FOLKS
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The state of South Carolina is bracing for a rare snowstorm this weekend as another blast of Arctic air surges south and collides with a rapidly intensifying coastal low pressure system. The storm is forecast to turn into a “bomb cyclone,” essentially the closest thing Mother Nature has to a cold weather hurricane.
“A rapidly strengthening storm centered just off the North Carolina coast Saturday through Saturday night will produce widespread heavy snow and gusty winds from the southern Appalachians across eastern Georgia, the Carolinas and southeastern Virginia,” the National Weather Service (NWS)’s weather prediction center noted.
While bomb cyclones form in different ways – and at different times – than tropical cyclones, they remain capable of producing hurricane-force winds. How fast will these bitterly cold breezes be? How far inland could they reach? And how low will they push wind chill temperatures?
The answers to those questions await… as does the answer to the most important question on everyone’s mind (especially those of us with children): how much snow are we getting?
After a near-miss from a much-ballyhooed ice storm last week, a different sort of winter precipitation is set to begin falling in the Carolinas this evening (January 30, 2026) and continuing through Saturday and into Sunday. While projections are all over the map, forecasters are beginning to lock in their estimates for snowfall totals…
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As of Friday morning, NWS’ Columbia, S.C. office was projecting anywhere from 2″-5″ of snowfall in the central Savannah River area through the southern Midlands – and anywhere between 5″-8″ of snowfall for the central to northern Midlands.
Wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour are also in the cards, thanks to the emerging “bomb cyclone.”
There’s also the rapidly falling mercury…
“In addition to the impactful snowfall and difficult travel associated with it, bitter cold temperatures are expected the next three nights,” the office warned. “Wind chills Sunday morning are forecast to be around 0°F, which can cause frostbite with prolonged exposure.”
“Travel will become difficult to impossible and is not recommended,” the office added. “If you must travel, drive slow. If you spend time outside, make sure you dress in layers as temperatures will be very cold, especially after sunset tomorrow.”
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Midlands residents aren’t used to receiving significant snowfall. The Columbia area hasn’t even seen meaningful accumulation since a storm deposited 2″ of the white stuff on January 21, 2022. Eight years earlier – on February 12, 2014 – a storm dropped 2.1″ of snow on broad swaths of the Midlands.
In twelve of the last fourteen years, though, the Columbia area has seen no meaningful snowfall.
The last major snow in Columbia took place on February 12-13, 2010, with most parts of the city getting 4″-6″ but some areas seeing up to 8.6″. Columbia’s snowfall record is 16″, recorded during the famous ‘Big Snow‘ of 1973.
Significant accumulations are also forecast for the Palmetto Upstate, although the NWS office there isn’t entirely sure where they will fall.
“There will be places that receive less snow than what is in the forecast that doesn’t receive a narrow band of heavier snow,” the office noted. “Where these occur are uncertain and will be challenging to depict with subsequent forecast changes.”
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Download the South Carolina Winter Weather Guide for winter weather safety tips and resources ->https://t.co/tnh5TjF2KD#SCTweets #SouthCarolina #SCWX #winterweather #ColdWeather #emergencypreps #SCWeatherPreps pic.twitter.com/pCknjOHcZJ
— SC Emergency Management Division (@SCEMD) January 30, 2026
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The Upstate – specifically Caeser’s Head State Park – is home to South Carolina’s record-breaking snowfall. There, between February 15-17, 1969, a jaw-dropping 28.9″ fell, according to the S.C. State Climatology Office.
Even the South Carolina Lowcountry – which like the Midlands rarely receives more than a dusting of snow – will get at least modest accumulations ranging anywhere from 1″-2″ in Beaufort, S.C. to 3″-4″ north of Moncks Corner, according to its NWS office.
S.C. governor Henry McMaster indicated he was less concerned with this storm than last weekend’s winter weather – so long as people stayed off the roads.
“Unlike last weekend, there’s no threat of deadly ice damage and extended power outages – just slushy snow on roads and bridges that could freeze overnight into Sunday morning,” McMaster noted. “Stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. As a precaution, last Wednesday’s state of emergency has remained in effect for this weekend.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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