I've experienced snow here for the first time since moving to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. My family and I woke up to just over 3 inches of snow on Wednesday morning, January 22, 2025. This was the first snowfall since January 4, 2018, making it a rare event for a subtropical island. While those from the North might think we are overreacting, snow is uncommon in this region. Much of the southern U.S. received significant precipitation from this storm, with reports of 7 to 9 inches of snow from Pensacola, Florida, through Panama City, New Orleans, and Houston lighting up the Weather Channel all week.
It felt surreal, bizarre, and quite unusual. My daughter Caroline had never seen snow in person until this week; she was born in Florida after the snow in Hilton Head in 2018. My son Luke had only seen snow once before when we lived in Columbia, South Carolina, but he was just one year old, so he doesn’t remember it.
Needless to say, we had a blast! We spent the days outdoors sledding, walking, observing, taking pictures and videos, and just soaking it all in. After all, what else are snow days for? The kids were out of school for three days, and now, on Friday, January 24—the day before Caroline's birthday—the snow is still on the ground.
This week has been extremely cold. Daytime highs were in the mid-30s until today, when we reached 45 degrees, leading to some melting. However, overnight lows have remained in the mid-20s, resulting in refreezing each night. As a result, Beaufort County closed schools on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. It has been a fun experience!
All the snowfall occurred late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, January 21 and 22, just before dawn. Light rain began around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, followed by snowflakes at about 7 p.m. Then, snow, sleet, and ice mixed until approximately 1:15 a.m., when it became full snowfall. I know this because I was still awake, eagerly waiting for the snow to start, and I managed to record a bit of it when it began in earnest at 1:15 a.m. Bluffton received the most snow, with 4 inches, followed by Hilton Head Island with 3.5 inches. According to the National Weather Service, here is how much snow accumulated in these local areas.
2025 snowfall amounts
Okatie: 3.5 inches
Hardeeville: 3 inches
Ridgeland: 2.5 inches
Bluffton: 4 inches
Beaufort: 3 inches
Port Royal: 2.5 inches
Hilton Head Island: 3.5 inches(officially at the airport. I my house my average measurement was 3 inches.
Charleston: 2 inches
Savannah: 3 inches
Tybee Island: 2.6 inches
And here's how those numbers compare with the last time Hilton Head Island got snowfall back in 2018.
Beaufort: 3.5 inches
Bluffton: 4 inches
Callawassie Island: 4.8 inches (most in Beaufort County during the 2018 snowfall.)
Hardeeville: 3 inches
Hilton Head Island: 4.5 inches
Okatie: 4 inches
Port Royal: 3 inches
Ridgeland: 6 inches
Savannah: 2.8
Tybee Island: 1 inch
There was a dusting in 1985, 1986, and 2014 on Hilton Head Island.
In 2010, Hilton Head Island received about 3 inches of snow. The 2018 snowfall was only the eighth snow event since 1964. In 2025, only 10 total snow events with any accumulation have been recorded on the island!
Possibly the most snow Hilton Head Island has ever received in a single day in history was on February 15, 1973, when 6 inches was recorded. That snowfall was the most recorded in Charleston, SC, since 1738, when the City began keeping weather records. (Charleston was originally Charlestown, SC, and was formed in 1670)
Here's a story on that 1973 snowfall in Hilton Head.
From 1968, the most considerable snow here in 70 years.
Probably and maybe the only time in recorded history Hilton Head Island had a White Christmas, in 1989.
Newspaper articles are from the Island Packet and also the Beaufort Gazette. Thanks to them for the tremendous historical coverage of these snow events.
Dallas Reese
January 2025
Hilton Head Island, SC
Contact me at: dallasreese@zoho.com
Comments