Myrtle Beach Snowfall Database since 1940

Myrtle Beach, SC had never had a long, systematic snowfall record. After examining snowfall measurements from FAA and U.S. Air Force records at the Myrtle Beach airport, local NWS cooperative observer records at various locations around Myrtle Beach, and unofficial reports from newspapers and the public, we have been able to thread together an unofficial snowfall climatology for Myrtle Beach dating back to 1940. Although not official in a legal sense, this snowfall record helps fill a gap in our understanding of the frequency and severity of wintry weather in South Carolina.

Snow is an infrequent occurrence along the South Carolina coast. The combination of cold air and moisture is difficult to achieve since winds bringing moisture in from the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico are almost always bringing warmth in as well. Of the snowfall events in Myrtle Beach's history one stands out as particularly severe; December 22-24, 1989 brought an immense snowstorm to the coastal Southeast including 14 inches in Myrtle Beach. Other significant snowstorms include 7 inches on March 24-25, 1983, and 9 inches on February 9-11, 1973.

Begin Date	Ending Date	Snowfall	Basic Snowfall Statistics for Myrtle Beach, SC since 1940
1/24/1940	1/26/1940	0.1	Total Snowfall (inches)		77.4
2/25/1942	2/25/1942	3.9	Annual Mean Snowfall (in.)		0.9
12/15/1943	12/15/1943	6.0	Standard Deviation per event		3.1
12/11/1957	12/11/1957	0.4	Median Snowstorm Total (in.)		1.0
2/13/1958	2/14/1958	1.0	Mode (inches)		1.0
12/11/1958	12/11/1958	0.1
3/11/1960	3/11/1960	1.0	Total Snowfall by Decade (inches)
2/17/1963	2/17/1963	1.4	1940s: 10.0	1990s: 1.0
2/26/1963	2/27/1963	1.0	1950s: 1.5	2000s: 6.5
1/31/1965	1/31/1965	0.4	1960s: 5.5	2010s: 5.0
1/27/1966	1/27/1966	0.1	1970s: 12.9	2020s: 0.5
1/25/1968	1/25/1968	0.2	1980s: 34.5
2/22/1968	2/25/1968	1.4
1/23/1970	1/24/1970	0.4
2/9/1973	2/11/1973	9.0	Earliest Measurable Snow:	December 11, 1958
1/31/1977	1/31/1977	0.5	Latest Measurable Snow:	March 25, 1983
2/18/1979	2/19/1979	3.0
3/2/1980	3/3/1980	5.0	Measurable Snowfall Events Since 1940
12/27/1980	12/27/1980	1.0	Month	# of events
3/24/1983	3/25/1983	7.0	January	15			44% of all events
1/27/1986	1/27/1986	0.3	February	10			29% of all events
1/26/1987	1/27/1987	0.2	March	3			9% of all events
1/15/1988	1/15/1988	5.0	April	0			0 % of all events
2/23/1989	2/24/1989	2.0	November	0			0 % of all events
12/22/1989	12/24/1989	14.0	December	6			18% of all events
1/18/1992	1/19/1992	1.0
1/25/2000	1/25/2000	4.0
1/2/2002	1/3/2002	2.0	Snowstorm Historic Frequency Analysis
1/23/2003	1/23/2003	0.5	Snowstorm Amount	≥ 0.1"		≥ 1"	≥ 3"	≥ 6"	≥ 12"
2/12/2010	2/13/2010	3.5	# of events since 1940	34		19	10	4	1
12/26/2010	12/26/2010	0.5	Mean # of events per year	0.41		0.23	0.12	0.05	0.01
2/16/2013	2/16/2013	0.5	Mean return interval (years)	2.41		4.32	8.20	21	82
1/28/2014	1/29/2014	0.5
1/29/2022	1/29/2022	0.5

Research and Page Author: Tim Armstrong
Page Created: April 11, 2015
Last Updated: February 6, 2022