Beaufort District's Record Snowfall, 1973

Last updated: 6 December 2024 - gmc.

The record snowfall in Beaufort County remains the blizzard of February 10-11, 1973. This winter storm is listed on the Climate Office’s “Storms of the Century” web page. It was indeed “A Rare Visit.”

Island Packet, February 15, 1973, p. 4

Snow fell across most of the state for approximately 24 hours beginning in the late afternoon on the 9^th. The belts of largest amounts lay parallel to the coast about 75 miles inland. Heaviest snowfall was 24 inches measured in Rimini, Clarendon County, SC. As this headline from the Beaufort Gazette noted:

The County’s other newspaper at the time, the Island Packet’s headline was: 

Island Packet, February 15, 1973, p. 1.

About 30,000 tourists were stranded on the State’s highways. Many had to be rescued by helicopter. Eight fatalities resulted from exposure. The snow was accompanied by strong winds and followed by severe cold. Drifts to 8 feet were found in some locations. At least 200 buildings collapsed, as did thousands of awnings and carports. Three truckloads of mail destined for Beaufort County actually had to await the thaw before delivery. Hunting Island State Park lost six feet of beach.

                               

 Beaufort Gazette, February 22, 1973, p. 10-A

Power loss was widespread. Schools were closed for a week in many counties.

The property damage and road damage plus cost of snow removal and rescue operations were estimated at close to $30 million.

Newspapers carried scores of photographs of wintry scenes and snowmen. Scott Graber was captured skating down Charles Street. In fact, Gerhard Spieler wrote in his “Low Country Comments” column in the Beaufort Gazette that “Beaufort’s Population Grew” on account of the numbers of snowmen erected in town. He particularly liked the creative persons who used cascades of Spanish moss for snowmen hair and crab claws for snowmen noses.

The Library has some photographs of the 1973 Blizzard in the Lucille Hasell Culp Collection posted online through our long partnership with the Lowcountry Digital Library. Here you can see her outside the Palmetto Studios shop on Bay Street. (Lucille Hasell Culp Collection, BCL-LCDL https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:1632.  Please note: the images in the Lucille Hasell Culp Collection are copyrighted by the Beaufort County Library).

Clippings in the BDC’s "Weather and Climate" vertical file indicate two other blizzards: the tongue-in-cheek Blizzard of February 1958 that the Beaufort Gazette covered and a certified blizzard of February 1899 documented by the Palmetto Post.

It's always a good idea to make an appointment to visit any archive or special library collection. If you want to visit the BDC Reading Room, give us a call 843-255-6468 or send us an email in advance of your visit bdc@bcgov.net.