South Carolina Snow: Why 1 Inch Can Mean 20 in Columbia, Greenville

A South Carolina weather explainer describes how one inch of liquid precipitation can produce very different snowfall totals, depending on temperature and snowflake structure. A common 10-to-1 ratio would yield about 10 inches, while heavy, wet snow may produce around five inches and unusually fluffy snow as much as 20. Columbia’s milder conditions and Greenville’s higher, colder setting can also lead to different accumulations.