Will it snow in SC during the freezing weather this week? Here’s the latest forecast

If you’re yearning for snow, South Carolina is not the place to be this week.

The closest snow will be in the Western North Carolina mountains, where 18 inches could fall. Snow is falling across the upper Midwest around the Great Lakes, where 18 inches have already fallen in Negaunee in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and 13 inches in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan.

But just because it’s not snowing doesn’t mean South Carolina is in the clear. Biting temperatures are expected and a freeze warning is in effect.

The National Weather Service in Columbia said the lows are forecast to be in the mid 20s with near freezing temperatures again Tuesday night.

“Gusty winds will strengthen this afternoon, gusting to 30-40 mph at times,” NWS said. “Rough waves on area lakes will create hazardous conditions for boaters.”

“This week’s weather has been a case study in why we love living in South Carolina, but the stretch of warm, dry days is about to end,” said Frank Strait, the severe weather liaison for the S.C. State Climate Office. “A trio of fronts will make our weather more active and flip us into a January-like setup by Monday.”

The front dumping snow in the Midwest was expected to usher in a polar air mass behind it, “causing the bottom to fall out of our temperatures,” Strait said.

“We go from October-like to January-like in hours,” he said. “Most of the state will see subfreezing temperatures Monday night into Tuesday morning.”

Tuesday will be chilly with highs in the upper 40s and lower 50s, but then the South Carolina effect kicks in and by Thursday, most places will see highs of 65-70° into the weekend, when another cold front approaches.

No snow then either and probably no rain.

In fact, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows much of the state is abnormally dry or in drought.

“The drought will likely worsen and expand again over the coming weeks,” Strait said.