Winter Storm Fern brought a mix of sleet and freezing rain to the area over the weekend with one to two inches accumulation locally. Ice accumulations on powerlines and trees were less than an eighth of an inch resulting in minimal power outages and damage in Anderson County.
While many in the area were expecting ice accumulations to affect travel and road conditions into the first part of the week, by mid-morning Monday, main roads were clearing with some melting slush remaining on them, but driveable for those who ventured out. Most people stayed home and many local businesses remained closed.
The melting ice was expected to be more of a problem overnight Monday and into Tuesday as cold temperatures froze standing water on roadways and resulted in black ice in some spots.
The National Weather Service issued a Cold Weather Advisory which remained in effect from 6 pm Monday evening to noon Tuesday. The low temperature was expected to be 13 degrees.
(Photo above taken 11:30 am Monday morning on Hwy. 20 in Pelzer)
On Tuesday, roads were much clearer with some ice in spots.
Anderson School District One remained closed with e-learning scheduled for students. All extracurricular activities and athletic events were canceled Saturday through Tuesday.
The district will continue to consult with local officials as they make further decisions regarding school during the rest of the week. Updates are shared through the AD1 communications system, website, and social media channels.
West Pelzer’s newly elected Mayor Rick Sanders, decided to postpone the January 27 council meeting, including the public swearing-in ceremony. Newly elected officials including new Mayor Sanders, have already been properly certified and sworn in in accordance with applicable requirements. The postponed ceremony is intended solely for public recognition and celebration.
Meetings scheduled for Pelzer will be moved back one week. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 3 and a Public Hearing and Council Meeting will be on Feb. 10.
In Williamston, Town offices were closed Monday and the Town planned to resume normal operations on Tuesday based on road and weather conditions. Mayor Rockey Burgess said once they are able to safely determine when trash pickup can resume an updated schedule for the week will be released.
Park Church, 208 Greenville Drive in Williamston, was open as a warming center through the weekend and will remain open 5pm-8am nightly through Tuesday February 3.
Tri-County Technical College was closed Monday and Tuesday with no in-person or virtual classes scheduled.
Anderson County
All Anderson County offices were closed Monday and remained closed on Tuesday due to continued impacts from the winter storm.
Anderson County Government Offices, PAWS, Convenience Centers, MRF & Starr Landfill were closed Monday due to the inclement weather. The County’s public works, facility, and emergency staff were working around the clock to clear roadways of debris, and provide emergency services and power crews remain active to address hazardous conditions.
On Monday, Anderson County Emergency Management was working with Public Works to identify problematic roads and address hazardous driving conditions throughout the county. Residents were being urged to exercise caution while traveling and to avoid unnecessary trips as crews continued assessments.
According to officials, Emergency operations were executed effectively with 24/7 coverage across Anderson County during the winter storm.
As conditions stabilized, the Anderson County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) transitioned to a virtual operations center while maintaining full operational capability and countywide situational awareness.
Warming shelters remained open for residents in need, including at the Anderson Civic Center.
Officials encourage anyone requiring shelter or assistance to utilize the available resources.
For more information, residents can check the Emergency Management Winter Storm website, which has been established to provide school closings, helpful resources, safety information, and additional updates.
For updates check the Anderson County Emergency Management website at
https://www.emd.andersonsheriff.org/winterstorm.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy reported approximately 9000 customers across North and South Carolina lost power due to FERN. As of Tuesday, there were 196 Active Outages resulting in 6,333 customers without power.
In Anderson County there were only three Active Outages reported on Tuesday with 72, customers out of 100,413 served that were without power. Most of those were on Three and Twenty Road in Northern Anderson County. Estimated time of restoration for those remaining was 11:30 p.m. January 27.
Areas north of Anderson County, including Oconee and Pickens Counties, were hit harder.
On Sunday, there were over 23,000 Blue Ridge Electric Co-op members without power due to Winter Storm Fern.
Blue Ridge Co-Op
Blue Ridge Spokesperson Riley Morningstar said, “To contextualize how this number evolved throughout the latter part of the day Sunday, consider the following. At around 2:30 p.m., there were approximately 3,000 members without power. By 4 p.m., that number climbed to over 20,000 due to a bombardment of precipitation that tracked out of northeast Georgia.” Morningstar said, “We received multiple field reports of sagging trees and poor road conditions. Blue Ridge encourages the public to avoid downed power lines and stay off the roads if they are able to.”
There are multiple crews coming out of Georgia, Berkeley and Horry Electric Co-ops in the Lowcountry Monday to provide needed help, Morningstar said Monday. “This remains a multi-day outage.”
Blue Ridge Co-Op offices were closed to the public Monday so all focus could remain on restoration efforts.
“There is one positive story from Sunday that I do want to share,” Morningstar said. “We are grateful that no linemen were injured after a tree fell on a service truck driving on S.C. Highway 8 on an outage call. Both men are fine. We are grateful for the prayers and words of encouragement we’ve received from our membership.”
“We will continue to provide updates as work continues,” Morningstar said.
Preparing for the storm
As the storm approached Anderson County last Thursday, the Emergency Operations Center operated at Operational Condition (OpCon) 2, indicating enhanced situational awareness and preparedness.
One of the primary concerns associated with the event was ice accumulation and prolonged freezing temperatures expected overnight from Saturday into the remainder of the week.
Emergency officials strongly urged residents to stay off roadways, limit travel, and take necessary steps now to prepare ahead of the storm, which they did.
The largest warming shelter in Anderson County was located at the Anderson Civic Center.
Additionally, Anderson County officials requested assistance from the South Carolina National Guard to support shelter operations and assist with debris removal in areas most affected by potential power outages or storm related damage.
At 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 22, the Anderson County Council voted to declare a state of emergency in anticipation of the potential impacts of the Winter 2026 storm.
Over the past week, Anderson County departments have worked collaboratively to coordinate preparation efforts and mobilize necessary resources to ensure public safety and continuity of services.
“This action is in keeping with the disaster declaration issued yesterday by Governor McMaster and helps ensure that response efforts are well coordinated and quickly implemented,” said Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn.
The state of emergency will be in effect until such time as conditions warrant.
The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed a winter storm-related death in Greenwood County Monday. A 96-year-old female died of hypothermia. The death was confirmed by the county coroner.
