White Christmas in Myrtle Beach (Charleston, Marion: hotel, house, stores)

[lumbollo]

Yes it does happen. The following is an accounting of a heavy snow that I experienced in Myrtle Beach 20 years ago this year.

It does get cold in Myrtle Beach. In fact the only white Christmas that I have ever seen was in Myrtle Beach 20 years ago in 1989. There was some sort of front that developed off the coast that combined with some pretty extreme cold that had drifted down from the North and it started snowing on Christmas eve. It was an odd storm as there was no snow in inland SC.

I was driving into Myrtle Beach from Charlotte on Christmas Eve and had tuned to one of the radio stations in Myrtle Beach somewhere around Marion. We heard the DJ (they were still local in those days) talk about the snow and I told the rest in the car they were making this up. "It never snows in Myrtle Beach this time of year." However as we got closer I noticed the snow starting to come down and it was the dry dusty kind that swirls on the road and not the usual token very wet heavy kind of stuff that comes down in MB on the rare snow day. I was amazed

by the time I made it to my folks house in MB, the roads were starting to turn white. This is extremely unusual there and during the years I was growing up, only remember this happening once, in 1972 or '73. By the end of Christmas day, it had snowed 12-14 inches in Myrtle Beach though there were drifts that were higher. To add insult to injury, the high was in the low teens.

Of course the city is totally unprepared for something like this and the place completely shut down. There was also a power outage on Ocean Blvd because many of the hotel rooms there were poorly insulated and heated by electrical heaters and the power system could not handle it. I also remember a couple of cave ins at a couple of large stores where the roof wasn't designed to hold this weight.

All in all it was an interesting experience especially since the place was still recovering from Hugo damage.

[GMarcan920]

Oh no, we're leaving NE to spend the winter in MB. Can you please contact the Weather Gods and request NO SNOW from mid November to the end of March. This New Englander will be forever grateful. We're dreaming of golf all winter, walks on the beach, general walks, all the kind of snowbird stuff.

[lumbollo]

Haha. You probably won't have any issues. I also remember many Christmas days where we were wearing shorts outside.

[jetsfan16]

Last year, for example, it was almost 80 degrees in Myrtle on Christmas Day. Other years, it can be in the 30s with a chance of snow.

The weather in this part of the country varies tremendously, even just a few miles difference. Charleston got like eight or nine inches of snow from that storm, and they shut down for days.

[Dawne]

Originally Posted by jetsfan16

Last year, for example, it was almost 80 degrees in Myrtle on Christmas Day.

And a week later, when we were there on New Year's Eve and Day it was in the 30s. BRRRR! As I said in another thread, I think my family brings extreme weather with it when we travel. We weren't there on Christmas Day, hence the nice weather - LOL!

[TNKY]

I'd be elated wearing shorts on Christmas Day. In West MI, it's the same question but instead of Christmas, it's "Will we have a white Halloween". Nothing sucks more for the kids as they have to put coats, warm hats and mittens over their costumes. Get me outta here!

[Dawne]

We might actually have a white Halloween here in central PA this year. We just had our earliest recorded snowfall for my area yesterday. Thankfully the roads are still warm enough that they're just wet but it did stick in the grass and on cars. It's less than an inch, but this is waaaaay early for us!

TNKY, you can keep your white Halloweens to yourself! LOL!

[TNKY]

No, I don't want a white anything. I want to return to the south and God-willing it will happen next year.

[Dawne]

Best wishes!