Cold/Wind Chill — Anderson, South Carolina

2022-12-23 to 2022-12-24 · Anderson, South Carolina

Event narrative

Media reported two indirect fatalities associated with the cold in Anderson County, both on the north side of Anderson. One man died when a power outage attributed to the cold knocked out his oxygen machine. A 91-year-old man died due to exposure while attempting to repair a burst pipe.

Wider weather episode

An arctic cold front swept across upstate South Carolina during the morning of the 23rd and introduced the coldest air mass in more than 5 years. Temperatures in the single digits and lower teens combined with 10 to 20 mph winds to produce wind chill values in the 0 to -15 range from the evening of the 23rd through Christmas Eve morning. While winds abated throughout Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, unseasonably cold weather persisted for the better part of four days. There were numerous reports of frozen and burst pipes along with mostly minor damage to infrastructure throughout the area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1071152. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.