Lowest temps in HHI since ’22? Beaufort Co. plans wind advisory ahead of arctic cold front

Evan McKenna
·2 min read

A long-forecasted cold front is on track to hit the southeastern U.S. beginning Friday, signaling an unusually frigid weekend for Beaufort County and surrounding coastal areas. Although snow is unlikely, strong winds have prompted an advisory Sunday and could send feels-like temperatures plummeting to their lowest since 2022, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Spilling into the northern U.S. from Canada early this week, the arctic air mass plunged swaths of the country into harsh winter conditions much earlier than expected. Many voters stayed home during the coldest Iowa caucuses in history, and at least 14 deaths in Tennessee this week have been blamed on the storm’s blankets of snow and ice.

Beaufort and Jasper counties will be under a wind chill advisory from 1 to 10 a.m. Sunday, the NWS announced Friday afternoon. Saturday night and Sunday morning are expected to be the coldest segment of the weekend, with wind chill minimums at 11 degrees and a low temperature of 23. Weekend highs are in the low-to-mid 40s.

Sunday morning’s cold might end up becoming the area’s lowest recorded temperature since Christmas Eve of 2022, according to the NWS, when early-morning temps dipped to 19 degrees on Hilton Head.

In anticipation of the bitter cold, organizations in Bluffton and Lady’s Island are offering warm shelters this weekend for anyone needing a safe place to stay.

These temperatures aren’t anywhere close to normal at this time of year, said NWS meteorologist Steven Taylor. Typical highs in January sit around the low 60s, making this weekend’s highs about 20 degrees lower than average, Taylor said. Local lows average in the 40s.

But coastal South Carolina will experience a warming trend after the system passes through. High temps in the Beaufort area could climb back up into the 70s as early as Wednesday next week, according to the NWS forecast office in Charleston.

WEEKEND FORECAST

Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 11 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 44. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 23. Wind chill values as low as 14. North wind 9 to 11 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 43. North wind 7 to 11 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31.