Brief snow, sleet possible in parts of Lowcountry Friday

On January 10, 2025By Littum

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC/AP) – Some areas of the Lowcountry could experience a brief period Friday of wintry weather, while other areas will likely see nothing but rain.

Live 5 First Alert Meteorologist Joey Sovine said Thursday morning that they can’t rule out the possibility of “a few flakes or some sleet” as a winter storm moves into the Lowcountry.

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The Live 5 Weather team declared Friday an initial weather alert due to the possibility of wintry weather in parts of South Carolina.

“We issued the first weather alert because of the rare chance we could see a few flakes of snow for a few of you, maybe a little bit of sleet briefly mixed in before it all turns to rain,” he said.

The storm will move in late Friday morning into the evening and will be mainly rain for most if not all of the Lowcountry, Sovine said.

A winter storm that threatens to drop snow, sleet and freezing rain in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas will move into the Deep South on Thursday and arrive over the Carolinas on Friday, Sovine said.

Where will there be a chance of snow in the Lowcountry?

For the Lowcountry, computer model predictions vary about how far south the snow could fall. But Sovine says those near I-95 and north of I-26 have the best chance to see a brief period of light snow or sleet before it turns to rain.

“Future Tracker might show it late in the morning. Most other models don’t show it until later in the afternoon and into the evening,” he said.

Whatever little wintry precipitation may occur should change to rain quickly. He does not expect any accumulation in this area.

“If the models are colder, a few snowflakes could make it all the way to the coast,” he says, but added that’s not likely.

“The only absence may be extreme northern parts of Williamsburg and Clarendon Counties that get closer to the Pee Dee,” he said.

The Williamsburg County School District announced Wednesday that it will operate on an early dismissal schedule for Friday. All after-school and after-school activities on Friday were canceled, district officials said.

The rain will continue Friday night into early Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, wintry precipitation is expected to develop over much of the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia Friday afternoon into early Saturday. Much of the Midlands will see a wintry mix, but parts of the Upstate, especially in the mountains, have the best chance of seeing snow.

There is still uncertainty about the concrete types and amounts of precipitation, but significant accumulations are possible.