By: Nora Carroll

This winter has been a winter like no other! An arctic blast took the entire eastern United States storm, even bringing parts of the country their first snow storms in years.

Snow totals were different across the southeastern part of the United States, “1 to 3 inches reported in Austin, over 4 inches in Houston, and between 8 to 10 inches along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans to Pensacola. In the Carolinas, snowfall ranged from 3 to 5 inches,” said Mary Wasson, WeatherTap meteorologist. 

There were many areas in the United States that were receiving their first bits of snowfall in multiple years.

South Carolina was no exception. Myrtle Beach is somewhere that got their first major snowfall in many years. “I’d say once every 2-3 years we have at least some flurries, but storms that produce 5” of snow are rare. Since 1940, we’ve only had 7 storms that produced 5” of snow,” said Ed Piotrowski, WPDE Chief Meteorologist. The last major snowfall was way back in 1989, producing 14” of snow. 

People are often worried about how areas that do not experience snow often prepare for this level of cold. Myrtle Beach tries to take good care of their residents to the best of their ability. “We do salt bridges and overpasses, but there are very few trucks that can clear the snow so we have to wait it out. Normally, that’s not a big concern since snow melts quickly here. This one lasted a few days thanks to the very cold air,” said Piotrowski.

Piotrowski even goes on to note that “with climate change, the jet stream becomes much more amplified which causes extreme cold to reach the southern U.S. It’s rare, but it does happen.”

Some students at universities in South Carolina had to take on a major snowfall for the first time without their families there. “I did prepare for the storm by staying on campus because I knew I wouldn’t be able to drive in the snow and ice,” said Emma Dugan, a sophomore at Clemson University. Dugan also goes on to explain that she was unable to live her typical life for two days because of the road conditions. 

But it was not all bad for those in the southeastern United States, many even got to have some fun in the snow! “My favorite part about the snow was that it was the first time seeing that much snow. It was also very fun to be on campus with so many of my friends and other students, and spend the day sledding and having snowball fights,” said Dugan.

Photo from WPDE, Ed Piotrowski