Here’s how hard the ice storm hit SC Upstate, Greenville & what brutal cold to expect next

Winter storm Fern pushed through the Upstate over the weekend leaving behind icy conditions but causing relatively few power outages.

Now comes bitter cold.

The low Monday morning was 16 in Greenville and is expected to go to 14 overnight. The week will remain cold — in the 20s at night, 40s during the day, plunging not warmer than 28 on Saturday, a low of 15.

About 45,000 people in the Carolinas were without power over the weekend and by Monday midday crews were able to restore more than 10,000 customers, according the Duke Energy’s outage map.

Schools were closed, businesses, too. Grocery stores had limited hours on Sunday. People scrambled to find things they needed like food and supplies via Facebook posts.

There were a number of accidents.

But all in all it seemed people took the experts’ advice and stayed home, if they could.

No power lines were reported down in the city of Greenville as of Monday morning. About a quarter inch to a half inch of snow coated power lines. Predictions were it could have been twice that amount.

“Strong wind could still down trees and lines,” the city of Greenville said in its Monday morning report.

Plowing, salting on bridges and steep slopes was being done. Roads may appear clear but Greenville Police asked people to stay off the roads until noon when ice will begin to thaw.

Greenville city offices — as well as Mauldin and other Upstate cities were closed. Greenville City Council cancelled its regular Monday meeting.

The Greenville Zoo was closed. The animals were safely housed and cared for, the city said.

The nonprofit Greenville Humane Society was able to get most animals in foster care and county-run Greenville Animal Care staff spent the night in the shelter.

“Storms don’t pause the needs of pets — dogs still need walks and medications, cats still need feeding and monitoring, and every animal still deserves comfort and attention,” Animal Care said. “So our team brought sleeping bags, blankets, and pajamas and settled in for overnight shifts to ensure nothing gets missed.”

Upstate schools remained closed Monday and Tuesday, and the Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees was cancelled.

Schools were able to offer e-learning while closed.

Anderson County offices will remain closed on Tuesday, Anderson County Emergency Management said.

Warming shelters remained open, including at the Anderson Civic Center.

The Emergency Management Winter Storm website has information on school closings, helpful resources, safety information, and additional updates.

Greenville Spartanburg International Airport was closed Sunday but resumed some operations Monday, generally with flights from areas not impacted by the storm. Flights from Chicago, New York and Charlotte were cancelled.

Early morning flights were cancelled but flights scheduled for later in the day were reported to be on time.

Blue Ridge Electric reported 25,000 without power, including multiple clusters of broken poles, each of which takes three to four hours to replace.

“Our crews are fighting a moving target,” officials said. “They may spend hours setting a new pole and stringing line, only for a thawing branch to snap and knock the entire section back down.”

Many of the lines in the rugged, mountainous area are miles from the main road.

“We are working with every resource we have to reach those remote areas,” they said.

This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 11:53 AM.