Georgetown County turned into a winter wonderland over the weekend, when at least seven inches of snow blanketed parts of Georgetown County.

And it may not be the last snow we see, weather experts say.

Soft snow started falling Friday afternoon and fell steadily into Saturday morning, leaving a thick coating of snow on the area.

From the City of Georgetown to rural communities such as Browns Ferry and Plantersville, a rare snowfall greeted residents when they woke up Saturday morning.

“We got reports from Oatland in Georgetown County of seven inches,’’ said Carl Morgan, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, N.C. “Two reports came from within Georgetown. One was 4.5 inches and the other 2.5 inches.”

Historic snowfall

The snow was one of the largest snowfalls to hit some parts of Georgetown County since 1915.

The highest snowfall ever recorded in eastern Georgetown County was nine inches that fell on Dec. 21, 1915, Morgan said.

The record snowfall for the rest of the county was 18 inches that fell in December, 1989.

Only a few flakes have fallen on the area since then.

Hopswee Plantation has only see 30 such snowfalls in its 275-year history, said the Plantation owners, who posted the information on Facebook.

Unusual pattern

The storm was part of an unusual weather pattern, that rushed in from the Gulf of Mexico.

“It was a low pressure that moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and moved into the Atlantic before it turned to the Northeast,” Morgan said. “The track of this storm was further south than they typically move. Having that storm track made all the difference in the world.”

More snow?

Meanwhile, forecasters are watching other approaching storm systems, to determine if there will be more snow in the next several weeks.

Rain is expected today Monday, but the weather will be too warm to produce any frozen precipitation, Morgan said.

At least one weather forecast is showing another low pressure system that could impact the area by next weekend.

“There is a  low indicated in the gulf, and if it turns northeast it could take a similar track,’’ Morgan said.  “More snow wouldn’t be out of the question. But it’s not on the radar at this point.”

He said the active winter weather, with wind and rain, should continue for the next several months.

“These lows have been coming across and bringing us rain. We’ve had a very active winter.”

 Some problems

At least 35 car accidents were reported between Friday and Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Scattered power outages were also reported.

About 500 people were without power in the Bonneau section of Berkeley County for about half an hour Saturday, said Santee Cooper spokeswoman Mollie Gore.

At least 100 customers were without power in Southern Myrtle Beach and Moncks Corner, Gore said.

“We had some trees that were heavy with snow and were pushing down on lines,’” Gore said. They were pretty minor outages.”

South Carolina Electric and Gas reported over 17,400 power outages Friday night, according to reports on AccuWeather. com.

By Kelly Marshall Fuller

Kfuller@gtowntimes.com