Update: When the Myrtle Beach, SC area should expect snow and which places will get the most
The Myrtle Beach area is bracing for snow as northeast South Carolina experiences both a winter storm warning and a cold weather advisory from the National Weather Service.
Across Georgetown and most of Horry County, folks should prepare for 4 to 5 inches of snow and sleet this week, most of which will fall tonight. According to NWS warning coordination meteorologist Steven Pfaff, snow will likely start after 3 p.m. today.
“That doesn’t mean there can’t be a few flakes or some sleet around earlier in the afternoon, but it looks like most of it’s going to start later in the afternoon, and the greatest accumulations are going to occur overnight tonight,” Pfaff said.
With snow expected to accumulate in the Grand Strand overnight, Pfaff predicted Tuesday morning that it will likely stop falling Wednesday morning, sometime between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.
While current NWS forecasts call for snow across much of northeast South Carolina, Pfaff anticipates that coastal areas will experience more snowfall than inland areas.
Although earlier forecasts predicted less snow, an updated map from the NWS calls for 4 to 5 inches of snow across Georgetown County and nearly all of Horry County. Only the northwest corner of Horry County is expected to see 3 to 4 inches of snow.
While snowfall is expected to subside Wednesday morning, there’s a small chance of freezing rainfall or a winter mix on Thursday, though Pfaff says it’s too soon to predict where.
“Right now, we’d say there’s about a 20% chance of maybe a freezing rain event for part of the area,” said Pfaff. “It’s still hard to tell exactly who’s going to get what, if we get anything, during Thursday.”
Beyond the possibility of wintry precipitation, Pfaff said melting snow has the potential to refreeze, causing black ice and “treacherous driving conditions” on roads.
“It’s just going to be so cold that we might be dealing with these travel issues for a while,” said Pfaff.
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 11:12 AM.