Rare snow causes schools, businesses to close for several days
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Thanks to an atypical winter storm that hit the Lowcountry on Tuesday of last week, Beaufortonians woke up to snow for the first time in seven years.
Winter Storm Enzo blew into South Carolina late on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and led to school and business closures for most of the week and dangerous road conditions that lasted for days as the snow would begin to melt during the day and then would refreeze at night due to freezing temperatures.
of Habersham. It was built by an unknown person who had been using a small tractor to clear the road of snow. Jeff Evans/The Island News
Beaufort got 3 inches of sleet and snow and Port Royal got 2.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service Charleston
Temperatures overnight plummeted into the low 20s, which lead emergency officials in the Lowcountry to request that residents stay home and off the roads due to the ice.
A cold weather shelter was open during the week for those in need at Sea Island Presbyterian Church and they provided showers, dinner and breakfast in addition to a warm place to sleep.
According to a spokesperson from the church, as many as 30 people sought shelter in a night.
Beaufort County School District (BCSD) had students attend for half a day on Tuesday and then they had an e-learning day on Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to the number of days students have had to miss this year due to weather, they have now exhausted all their e-learning days and can no longer use them for this school year.
To make up for missing on Thursday, Jan. 23, BCSD students will have to attend school on March 17 as a weather make-up day.
There have been no decisions made yet as to how students will make up Friday, Jan. 24, or any additional missed weather day, but according to BCSD spokesperson Candace Bruder, the Beaufort County Board of Education will discuss it in February.
Local municipalities also stayed closed through Friday out of an abundance of caution due to the icy roads and snow.
The last time that Beaufort saw snow was in 2018 when Beaufort got 3.5 inches of snow and Port Royal got 3 inches.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
