It’s official: Last month was the coldest January in 25 years for many parts of South Carolina

As we close the books on January, it comes as no surprise that this January in particular, was colder than most in recent years. In fact, most of the National Weather Services around the state say 2025 was one of the coldest Januarys in 25 years.

An Arctic blast plunged into the southeastern United States the 2nd week of January 2025, arriving just in time for the coldest stretch of the year. It brought record-breaking low temperatures and fueled a winter storm that dropped historic snowfall for parts of the deep south, including, as we know, South Carolina.

Unusually cold, dry Arctic air was already in place across much of the Gulf Coast before the winter storm buried several states in several inches of snow. A dip in the jet stream was pushing south and east across much of the central U.S., stretching from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf Coast and Carolinas. The collision of Gulf moisture with such cold, dry air was like a lake-effect snowstorm across the South.

A winter storm hit the southern United States from January 9–11, 2025. The storm brought freezing rain and snow from New Mexico and Texas to the Carolinas and Virginia. 

The Upstate saw freezing rain accumulations of up to a quarter inch. In Greenville, South Carolina, temperatures were in the teens on January 22, 2025. The storm caused schools, businesses, and community organizations to close. 

The cold weather pattern lasted for the first three weeks of January which helped plummet January’s overall averages around the state.

Here’s a look at some of the records set around the state in January:

In the Upstate including Greenville/Spartanburg area has its 2nd coldest January since 2000. The average mean temperature was 38.1° which is 4.4° colder than the average of 42.5°.

In the Midlands, daytime highs were also unseasonably cold for the month of January. In Columbia, January 2025 was the 2nd coldest since 2000. The average mean temperature was 40.5° which is 5.4° colder than the average of 45.9°.

In the Lowcountry, Charleston had an average temperature of 43.5°F in January 2025. That puts January 2025 as the 10th coldest month on record. 16 days had temps 32° or below. The coldest was 21° on January 25th. The warmest was 74° on January 31st.

And the PeeDee experienced cold, northerly air and temperatures well below freezing. Freezing rain accumulated up to one-quarter inch in the Pee Dee region as well. A winter storm brought snow and ice from the Midwest to the Carolinas, with significant snowfall in inland areas. January 2025 temperatures were record-breaking low for the region too. January 2025 for the Pee Dee was the 2nd coldest since 2000 as well. The average mean temperature was 40.2° which is 5.5° colder than the average of 45.7°.

While it was a long month for anyone hoping for a mild winter, January was a great reminder that it does and can get brutally cold in the Palmetto state , and sometimes longer than expected.

On the bright side, February’s temperatures promise to be normal or slightly above, ushering in what could be an early arrival to South Carolina's spring, despite what Punxsutawney Phil forecasts for the rest of the country!