You should prepare for winter storms much like you do for hurricanes.
They don't happen often, but winter storms do impact the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.
A storm in December of 1989 brought the first white Christmas to the Grand Strand leaving over a foot of snow on the ground.
Randy Webster with Horry County Emergency Management was a bit surprised to see it.
"I grew up in West Virginia where there was plenty of snow and ice there, but here I was here in 1989 with the umpteen inches of snow and that was interesting because it brought this area to its knees real quick," said Webster.
The 1989 winter storm wasn't the first to impact this area.
A blizzard in February 1973 brought record amounts of snowfall to the Carolinas including over 2 feet in parts of the Midlands.
The storm stranded tens of thousands of travelers on our interstate highways.
It killed 9 people and caused nearly 200 buildings to collapse.
More recently, in January 2000, a winter storm brought anywhere from 2 to 4 inches to the Grand Strand, 6 to 8 inches across the Pee Dee and over a foot of snow along our North Carolina counties.
Though it's not a common occurrence, sometimes the ingredients come together just right for a snow storm.
In order for us to see a snowstorm, here's typically what has to happen. Cold air must move in from Canada. It covers the Carolinas and interacts with the warmer water off the coast along the gulf stream.
This interaction causes an area of low pressure to develop which throws a lot of moisture across the Carolinas and the colder air. This can lead to freezing rain, sleet, or even a heavy snow over the Carolinas.
When this happens it's important to be prepared.
Webster says you should prepare for winter storms much like you do for hurricanes.
"If people are prepared for hurricanes, they can take anything else that comes this way. It's all the same. With a hurricane you're without power for 3 or 4 days and with an ice or snow storm you may be without power for 3 or 4 days," said Webster.
The big difference is that you may have to go without heat instead of air conditioning.
"People may need heat. We may have to open shelters to accommodate that, and we may have to help them figure out how to get from point A to point B because if there is a lot of snow and ice they may not be able to get around," explained Webster.
Ice storms can cause even more damage.
In January of 2004, an ice storm left some neighborhoods looking more like demolition zones with downed trees and powerlines. It left thousands without power, and there was over an inch of ice accumulation along and east of I-95.
With all the cold weather recently, It's hard to believe winter is still nearly a month away.
But just because it's been so cold so early does not necessarily mean it will be a cold, snowy winter.
The winter outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, calls for slightly above average temperature readings for the winter.
