Hilton Head Snow: When It Has Fallen and What to Expect

Most Januarys on the island bring cool days and a few frosty mornings, and the winters pass without a flake. Now and then a cold air mass meets a storm moving up the coast, and the island wakes up white. Here is what has been measured, how seldom it happens and what it means if it does while you are here.

When Has It Snowed on Hilton Head?

These are the snowfalls with a source behind them, newest first. The numbers come from National Weather Service reports, the South Carolina State Climatology Office and local reporting, and observers do not always agree to the half inch.

• January 22, 2025: rain turned to sleet, then snow, on the morning of the 22nd, and about 3 to 3.5 inches settled on the island. It was the first real snow in roughly seven years, and some bridges and roads, the Cross Island Bridge among them, closed for a time.

• January 3, 2018: a coastal storm left about 4.5 inches on Hilton Head Island, according to the National Weather Service. The Lowcountry around it got snow and ice from the same storm.

• December 25, 2010: a White Christmas, if a thin one. The Hilton Head airport reported light snow at 2:50 p.m. on the 25th, with no accumulation recorded.

• December 1989: the best-remembered event, in the days before Christmas. The State Climatology Office measured about 5 inches at Beaufort, and Hilton Head had snow from the same storm.

The two photos on this page show the same January 2018 storm from the ground in North Charleston and from space. No licensed photo of snow on the island itself was available to us, so these stand in for it.

How Often Does It Snow?

Not often. The Island Packet counted fewer than ten snow events on Hilton Head since 1973, in about fifty years, and the gaps can be long: the stretch from 2018 to 2025 went by with none.

Cold, not snow, is the winter weather you can plan around. For temperatures month by month, see the Hilton Head weather in January guide, where the cold-weather stretch of the year is covered, or the weather hub for the whole year.

What Snow and Cold Snaps Mean for a Visit

In January 2025 the morning started with rain, then sleet, then snow, and the mix on the roads was the problem more than the snow itself: SC DOT closed some bridges and roads for a time, and the Cross Island Bridge was one of them. If snow is in the forecast, expect slick bridges and overpasses and little reason to drive until the sun has done its work.

If you are packing for a winter visit, pack for cold rather than for snow. If it does snow while you are here, check road and bridge status with SC DOT before you set out.

Protecting a Hilton Head Home in a Freeze

This is the part that matters most for people who own or manage a vacation home. A burst pipe in an empty house can run for days before anyone notices. The Hilton Head Public Service District, which supplies the island’s water, publishes these steps for a cold snap:

• Know your main shut-off. Find the home’s main water shut-off valve so you can close it fast if a pipe leaks.

• Outside: disconnect garden hoses from the spigots and turn off irrigation systems.

• While it is freezing: keep a slow trickle of water running through faucets, and open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors so warm air reaches the pipes.

• If a pipe freezes: shut off the water at the main before anything else, thaw with warm air and never an open flame, then turn the water back on slowly and check the pipes and joints for leaks.

If you manage a short-term rental, a cold snap is the weekend to have a plan: who walks the house, who has the shut-off location, and what the guest in residence is told. January is when the island’s coldest nights tend to fall.