South Carolina, 2000

Heavy Snow in South Carolina, December 3, 2000

December 3, 2000 · NWS GSP · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

A developing surface cyclone off the Carolina Coast spread abundant moisture into Upstate South Carolina, which was still mired in a cold, winter-like temperature regime. The result was another widespread snowfall.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
13

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

A developing surface cyclone off the Carolina Coast spread abundant moisture into Upstate South Carolina, which was still mired in a cold, winter-like temperature regime. The result was another widespread snowfall. The heaviest snow totals were near the South Carolina mountains, where Tigerville, in northern Greenville County, recorded 5 inches. However, the snow was not terrain-dependent, as Greenwood, with one of the lowest Upstate elevations, recorded 4 inches, as did Pickens, in the foothills of the mountains. Accumulations, in general, ranged from 1 to 3 inches.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Abbeville

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Abbeville forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.223, -82.459 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Anderson

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Anderson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.519, -82.638 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cherokee

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.048, -81.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chester

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.692, -81.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Greenwood

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Greenwood forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.154, -82.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Laurens

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Laurens forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.484, -82.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Greenville

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Greenville forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Northern Oconee

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Oconee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Northern Pickens

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Pickens forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Southern Greenville

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Greenville forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Southern Oconee

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Oconee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Southern Pickens

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Pickens forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Spartanburg

When
December 3, 2:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where
Spartanburg forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Carolina in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, December 2000

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5177901, 5178286, 5178287, 5178288, 5178394, 5178395, 5178396, 5178397, 5178398, 5178399, 5178400, 5178401, 5178402.