A winter storm that swept across the Southeast from January 31 to February 1, 2026, delivered something forecasters in Charleston, South Carolina, described as nearly unheard of for their latitude: dry, fluffy snow with snow-to-liquid ratios exceeding 15:1. That type of powder, common in the Rockies but unusual along the Carolina coast, prompted forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Charleston to emphasize how uncommon the setup was, as the system also ushered in very cold air. The storm capped a punishing stretch of winter weather that had already brought significant ice to parts of Mississippi the week before.
Powder Snow Where It Does Not Belong
Snow-to-liquid ratios measure how much air is trapped in fallen snow. A ratio of 10:1 is standard for most mid-latitude storms, meaning 10 inches of snow melts down to one inch of water. Ratios of 15:1 or higher produce the light, powdery flakes skiers prize, and they typically require the kind of deep cold and low moisture profiles found well north of the 33rd parallel. The Charleston National Weather Service office documented ratios at or above that 15:1 threshold during the January 31 storm, calling the resulting dry and fluffy snow uncommon that far south. Record cold temperatures followed the snowfall, locking the unusual powder in place and creating hazardous conditions on roads that rarely see anything beyond slush.
The rarity matters because Southern cities budget and plan for wet, heavy snow that melts quickly. Dry snow behaves differently: it drifts in wind, packs less moisture per inch, and lingers longer when temperatures stay below freezing. Residents accustomed to a fast thaw instead faced days of icy surfaces, and local crews working with limited salt and plow inventories had to adapt on the fly. The combination of snow type and sustained cold exposed a gap between what the region prepares for and what this storm actually delivered, prompting local officials to reassess how they communicate risk when snowfall totals may look modest but the underlying snow structure is anything but typical for the coastal Carolinas.
A Cyclone That Deepened Fast
The system responsible for the Charleston snow was part of a larger cyclone tracked by the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) as it moved through the Southern Appalachians and into the Carolinas. In its early stages, WPC summaries described the storm with a central pressure near 1006 hPa, with winter storm warnings already blanketing the Carolinas and nearby states. Preliminary snowfall totals at that point included 9.0 inches in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, and 8.6 inches in Greeneville, Tennessee. By the time the Weather Prediction Center issued its third summary, the cyclone had deepened sharply to 977 millibars, a sign of rapid intensification that increased wind impacts and helped support heavier snow.
Verified totals climbed accordingly. Lexington, North Carolina, recorded 16.0 inches of snow, while Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, measured 15.0 inches. Wind gusts peaked at 64 mph at Jennettes Pier, North Carolina. The storm’s reach extended well beyond the Southeast: final snowfall listings spanned Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Massachusetts, with Cape Cod and southeast Massachusetts recording measurable totals. Even Nantucket logged a peak gust of 62 mph. Coastal flooding advisories and black ice risks persisted after the snow tapered, adding layers of danger for communities already digging out, while mariners and aviation interests had to track rapidly changing conditions across multiple states.
Mississippi’s Ice Storm Set the Stage
The late-January snow event did not arrive in isolation. Just a week earlier, a separate ice storm from January 23 to 25 devastated portions of Mississippi and Louisiana. A corridor of the heaviest ice accumulation reached up to 1 inch, and sleet piled up to 6 to 7 inches in some locations. At the peak of the outages, more than 189,000 customers in Mississippi lost power. Restoration timelines stretched into weeks for the hardest-hit areas, meaning some households were still without electricity when the second storm arrived days later, facing the combination of bitter cold and limited ability to heat their homes safely.
That sequence matters for understanding regional vulnerability. The ice storm downed trees and power lines across a wide swath of the Deep South, and crews were still working on repairs when the snow cyclone developed. Back-to-back events strain utility response capacity, delay supply chains for replacement equipment, and compound the financial burden on affected families. A national weather map from January 23 shows a sprawling winter system already impacting the southern and eastern United States, while a follow-up analysis for January 26 captures the transition toward the later cyclone that would spread snow into the Carolinas and beyond. Together, the maps underscore that the ice and snow were part of a broader pattern of entrenched cold and repeated storm tracks across the same vulnerable corridor.
Why Standard Forecasts Fell Short
Forecasting high-ratio snow in the Southeast can be difficult because small shifts in temperature and moisture profiles can change snow density and totals. When models predict, say, 0.50 inches of liquid equivalent, a 10:1 ratio yields 5 inches of snow. A 15:1 ratio turns that same liquid into 7.5 inches, a 50 percent jump in accumulation from the same moisture. That gap can mean the difference between a manageable dusting and a road-closing event, and it catches both forecasters and the public off guard. The late-January discussion from national forecasters shows they were already tracking unusual cold-air dynamics days before the snow arrived, but translating that signal into precise snow-ratio guidance for subtropical locations remains a stubborn challenge.
Communication tools added another layer of complexity. Many residents rely on simple snowfall maps or phone apps that do not convey the nuances of snow density, surface temperatures, or wind-driven drifting. High-resolution graphics available through digital forecast portals can show the evolution of cold air and precipitation type in much finer detail, but those resources are still underused by the general public. Likewise, specialized services such as aviation weather briefings and water-level forecasts are designed to help pilots, emergency managers, and flood planners anticipate how an evolving winter storm might affect visibility, runways, coastal tides, and rivers. In this case, the forecasts captured the broad threat, yet the unusual snow structure and the compounding effects of the prior ice storm revealed how much work remains to translate technical guidance into decisions that protect people living far from typical snow country.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
