Personal Injury Attorney in Beaufort, SC

Could snow be in the forecast for Beaufort, SC in the near future? Some meteorologists say it’s very possible that we could see some here in the Lowcountry next week on Wednesday, January 22nd.

10 day forecasts indicate that an Arctic (Siberian) air mass and higher chances of precipitation will collide with one another in the Lowcountry on January 21st & 22nd, and the forecast from The Weather Channel calls for rain and show showers on the 22nd here in Beaufort, with 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.

But it’s still unclear exactly how the system will act, and it’s unlikely to be only snow that is forecasted.

Now, we know this forecast will most likely change, but, we’re still a bit excited, and also a bit nervous.

Snow and ice storms, coupled with cold temperatures, periodically do threaten South Carolina. All it takes is a few factors to line up.

When cold air makes its way south and connects with warmer, moister air…the propensity for snow occurs. With the way temperatures are here along the coast and the changes in temps as you move further inland away from the ocean, when these events do happen, we tend to see a period of liquid rain, a period of freezing rain, and then the snow.

It just depends on how cold it gets.

Heavy snowfall and extreme cold can immobilize an entire region. Even areas that normally experience mild winters can be hit with a major snowstorm or extreme cold. Winter storms can damage property, create safety risks, destroy crops and valuable timber, damage infrastructure components such as power lines and have enormous economic impacts…and they can sure be one heck of an inconvenience.

We don’t have salt trucks and snow plows here in Beaufort SC. Most natives don’t even know how to safely navigate their vehicles on snow covered roads. Recent snowfall has shown us that.

The last time Beaufort, SC saw a significant amount of snow was January 3, 2018. We got some five to six inches of snow and the Lowcountry froze over and most parts of it came to a standstill for four or five days; and Beaufort was a ghost town, with the exception of children and families going out to play in it.

Snow has repeatedly blanketed other parts of the country so far this season with our friends in the northeast getting hit constantly.

Yes, we aren’t up north, but during the winter months in the Lowcountry, it helps to stay aware, because winter weather isn’t a joke around these parts. And, you just never know when it’ll be headed our way. After all, nobody expected what happened in 2018, either.

Will it snow?

Who knows.

Beaufort, SC is beautiful every single day of the year. But, it looks exceptionally beautiful when its landscape is covered in snow.

We can only hope for some Lowcountry snow.

Read more local Beaufort SC news here.

The question of whether religion should be taught in public schools is prominent again due to recent government activity. In Louisiana, until a recent judicial ruling, the Ten Commandments were to be posted in every classroom starting in 2025. In Oklahoma, the superintendent of public instruction has mandated that all teachers teach the Bible. In Texas, the Board of Education recently approved a Bible-infused curriculum. All three efforts face continuing legal challenges or are being threatened with legal action.

The subject is rich in controversy. On the one hand, it is an outgrowth of a perceived decline in moral values. On the other hand, it inspires fear about lack of separation of church and state. It also stirs interpretive debate about the role of Christianity in American history and culture. Crosscurrents entered into this controversy to see if liberals and conservatives can come to an agreement about the teaching of religion in K-12 public schools.

Crosscurrents is a group of 12 individuals with a full range of liberal to conservative political perspectives. We seek to find common ground through dialogue and reach agreement on public policy choices, and our goal is to be a model of productive public discourse on difficult public issues. We have reached agreements more than a dozen times over the past three years on a wide variety of topics such as health care, election reform, and immigration.

On the topic of the teaching of religion in public schools, we came to two major agreements.

First, we agree that students should be informed with a broad overview of religions and the absence thereof, but that religions should not be promoted to students.

Second, we agree that schools have a responsibility to foster basic ethical values in students so that they can function in society with a foundational level of respect and decency. We see teaching a universal moral principle — known by many as the Golden Rule — which states that we should treat others the way we want to be treated, as a practical way to achieve this goal.

Our youth need a basic understanding of major religions so they can navigate society as adults, in the same way they need to acquire other social and occupational tools for engagement. We acknowledge that religions have had profound influence on United States history and culture, with the Christian faith being dominant. We agree that this influence, both positive and negative, should be taught to older students.

However, the exact content of this instruction should be left to education and history experts, as there is much room for varied interpretation of the nature of this influence. Critically, the content should be taught in a way that does not promote religion to students, nor induce them to practice any particular religion.

The United States is home to countless religious beliefs. No lessons about religious texts or figures could be devised that would be suitable for every one of these beliefs. Furthermore, many parents believe their children should be taught about religion only according to the family’s values. Finally, teachers are not trained to educate in theological matters. We endorse the wisdom of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which decrees that government should neither promote religion nor interfere with the free exercise thereof.

For these reasons, Crosscurrents does not support the governmental efforts in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, which appear to elevate the Christian tradition to a degree that we consider to be promoting that religion.

Many factors have motivated the promotion of religion, and particularly of Christianity, in public schools, and Crosscurrents members recognize that a perceived decline in moral and ethical values is one such factor. Many believe that both youth and society at large exhibit this decline, exacerbated by our country’s increasingly polarized views and aggressive behaviors. Therefore, we agree that teaching a universal moral principle would be of great benefit to K-12 students.

This endeavor will be challenged, because values are inherently very personal. However, we offer up this universal moral principle as behavioral guidance that is advocated by most religions and which can be taught with age-appropriate applications absent religious or political bias.

We agree that reminders to treat each other with respect, empathy and civility can be useful for adults as well. This universal moral principle, more broadly extended and embedded in our civic lives, could contribute to more domestic tranquility and meaningful, cooperative action in our polarized nation. Thus, we believe that such instruction for children would be helpful as they learn to navigate society.

Crosscurrents demonstrated that conservatives and liberals can come to agreements about teaching religion in K-12 public schools. While implementation would invariably come with thorny details, we believe that these agreements form a viable framework on how religion and moral values should be incorporated into K-12 education.

For further information about how you can join the Crosscurrents initiative and help expand civil public dialogue, contact rogbernier@gmail.com.

Members of the Crosscurrents group are: Starr Barnum, Roger Bernier, Greg Blackburn, Haim Bober, Marnie Brophy, Dick Brown, George Clare, Raymond Dominick, Steve Feldman, Mark Koenig, June Liu, and Laura McFadden.

There's a moment at Hunting Island State Park as you're biking along the Lagoon Trail—ocean breezes and intoxicating beach vistas playing peekaboo to your left—when the sandy path turns inland and a sign points to Diamondback Rattlesnake Trail. A good idea? Yes.

"Yes," it turns out, sums up the best way to experience Beaufort, South Carolina, and its environs, including Hunting Island. Yes, the path less taken is an excellent idea, as is the sweet tea at Blackstone's Cafe. Spending hours strolling through The Old Point and gazing at historic homes and even older live oaks offers endless enchantment. But with my eyes peeled for rattlers, I was (yes) relieved that the only serpentine thing I discovered was more of the winding trail along old dune ridge lines through a primordial wonderland.

The trail affirms why Hunting Island, a breathtaking 25-minute drive from Beaufort, is South Carolina's most popular state park. With a dozen similar paths and 5 miles of pristine beach, this place leads you back eons in time through an untouched maritime forest with towering pines and ospreys soaring overhead as well as magnolias and saw palmettos tangled with yaupon hollies and wax myrtles in the dense understory. Here you breathe deeper and look more closely. Life slows down, and a sense of awe percolates up.

Take In The Scenery At Waterfront Park

Take a seat on one of the bench swings at Beaufort's Waterfront Park. Wide and welcoming, they move back and forth in a rhythmic lullaby. You can't help relaxing, especially if you happen to catch a sunset or tune into the soft lapping of the Beaufort River against the floating dock, hearing the jingling clink of pulleys against sailboat masts—a mariner's wind chime.

PHOTO: Peter Frank Edwards A slice of the sweet life from Beaufort’s upscale Saltus River Grill. PHOTO: Peter Frank Edwards

Waterfront Park showcases the smart civic planning that makes Beaufort such a delight: The town's best vistas are protected and preserved. There are thoughtful amenities (parking, public bathrooms, an amphitheater, picnic tables, and plenty of green lawn for kids and dogs to play on). Plus it's all conveniently adjacent to an enticing array of restaurants, coffee shops, and stores along Bay Street. What better nightcap than to sit and swing a spell after enjoying grilled scallops or top-notch sushi at Saltus River Grill?

Appreciate Beaufort's Subdued Beauty

Beaufort is subdued in the best possible way. She has the same deep history and stunning architecture that her nearby sisters, Charleston and Savannah, are celebrated for, but she's fine staying slightly out of the limelight. Wise and mature, Beaufort wears her age like the badge of honor it is. Her Lowcountry aura feels elemental, with more patina and less pomp. Along Short Street at the edge of The Old Point, moss-heaped limbs cradle historic mansions. Beaufort's treescape shouts of grandeur in whatever language oaks speak. Gardens and yards aren't so much manicured as they are magical. It's easy to see why Hollywood frequently comes calling (a stairwell at The Beaufort Inn features posters from major motion pictures filmed here). Longtime resident Pat Conroy was so smitten that he wrote, "When I came to Beaufort I had struck upon a land so beautiful I had to hunt for other words."

Learn About Beaufort's History

Not far from Short Street, the First African Baptist Church, a Gothic Revival gem built by freedmen in 1865, bears witness to Beaufort's African American, Gullah, and Reconstruction-era history. "Robert Smalls was a member here. This document notes his Sunday school attendance and that he put a few cents in the offering plate," says the Rev. Alexander McBride, a jovial former marine and the church's pastor of almost 20 years, pointing to framed, yellowing pages hanging behind the sanctuary. A statue of Smalls, an enslaved crewman who heroically commandeered a Confederate ship and later served as a U.S. Congressman, is less than a mile away at Tabernacle Baptist Church, where a monument to Harriet Tubman is also planned.

Both churches are worthy stops, along with the Penn Center, the first Southern school for formerly enslaved people, across the bridge on St. Helena Island. Each place gives a deeper insight into the region's vibrant and enduring African American and Gullah Geechee culture.

Providing an overview of Beaufort's past, Capt. Henry Brandt of Coastal Expeditions offers a boat tour that cruises through the area's Native American, Spanish, and French history; Union occupation; and a view of Camp Saxton's tabby ruins, where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read in South Carolina—all interspersed with musings on estuary ecosystems and the fecund marvels of pluff mud.

"You don't fully experience Beaufort until you see it from the water," Brandt claims. After watching dolphins curl and glide from the boat's bow and admiring the town's steeples rising in the background, I absolutely believe him.

tabernacle1863.org; 901 Craven Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29901penncenter.com; 16 Penn Center Circle East, St. Helena Island, South Carolina 29920coastalexpeditions.com

Where To Stay

Anchorage 1770Boutique hotel in an 18th-century mansion with fine dining at the Ribaut Social Club anchorage1770.com; 1103 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

The Beaufort InnHistoric main inn plus several cottages clustered around a courtyardbeaufortinn.com; 809 Port Republic St, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Rhett House InnHistoric Greek revival mansion that's been a favorite of movie starsrhetthouseinn.com; 1009 Craven St, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

What To Eat And Drink

Blackstone's CaféClassic diner-like optionsblackstonescafe.com; 205 Scott Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Red Rooster CafeExtensive breakfast menu, whether you like it country, continental, Lowcountry, or Tex Mexfacebook.com; 2045 Boundary Street, Beaufort, South Carolina, 29901

Lowcountry Produce KitchenLocally sourced salads and sandwiches and a legendary tomato pielowcountryproduce.com; 302 Carteret St, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Chapman's GrocerGrab-and-go items plus beer, wine, and snacksinstagram.com/chapmans_grocer_beaufort; 208 West St, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

PlumsWaterfront dining featuring soups, salads, and sandwichesplumsrestaurant.com; 904 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Saltus River GrillFine dining with fresh local seafood, Southern fare, steaks, sushi, and a well-curated wine list saltusrivergrill.com; 802 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Old Bull TavernGastropub featuring a lively bar scene anda lamb shank that does not disappointoldbulltavern.com; 205 West Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Breakwater Restaurant and BarSeafood, steaks, and seasonal dishes with Southern flairwww.breakwatersc.com; 203 Carteret Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Paninis on the WaterfrontStone-baked pizzas, paninis, seafood, and pastaswww.paninisonthewaterfront.com; 926 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Where To Shop

Cabana22Coastal-chic boutiquecabana22.com; 819 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

The Chocolate TreeConfections such as fudge, truffles, and peanut brittlefacebook.com; 507 Carteret Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

The Beaufort Candy ShopClassic candies and sweet treats of every kindfacebook.com; 103 West Street Extension, Beaufort, South Carolina 29906

Lisa Rivers Fine ArtGullah-inspired art, prints, and giftswww.lisariversart.com; 917c Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Cassandra Gillens Art / Gullah Art in De WoodsPaintings, posters, and giftswww.cassandragillensarts.com; 711 Bladen Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29906

Good AuraSustainable clothing and jewelry boutiqueshopgoodaura.com; 221 West Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

Monkey's UncleToys, fun, and games for children of all ageswww.monkeysuncletoys.com; 909 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

What To Do

Hunting Island; southcarolinaparks.comSt. Phillips Island; southcarolinaparks.comPat Conroy Literary Center; patconroyliterarycenter.orgCoastal Expeditions; coastalexpeditions.comReconstruction Era National Historic Park; nps.gov/reerSpanish Moss Trail; spanishmosstrail.comCraven Street en route to The Old Point to explore historic neighborhoods

Two cold weather shelters are opening in Beaufort County this week as a massive cold front moves into the Lowcountry, threatening below-freezing temperatures and strong winds.

The major winter storm, which over the weekend caused widespread school cancellations and travel delays in western and central swaths of the U.S., could bring late-night and early-morning temperatures into the low 30s and high 20s in the Hilton Head Island area.

This week’s lowest temperature is expected to be 29 degrees Fahrenheit at 5 a.m. Friday, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service’s Charleston office. Feels-like temperatures could reach a minimum of 23 degrees Fahrenheit at 3 a.m. Tuesday with help from wind gusts up to 21 mph.

Beaufort and Jasper counties were under a wind advisory until 4 p.m. Monday. NWS forecasts predicted southwest winds from 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph, capable of blowing around unsecured objects.

Monday afternoon showers in the Beaufort County area were expected to bring about .10 inches of precipitation, followed by a midweek dry spell. Light showers are expected to return Friday afternoon, making for a rainy weekend as low temperatures rise back into the high 30s and low 40s.

The week’s forecast lows are nearly 20 degrees colder than the area’s average January temperature of 47.7 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NWS climate data from 1991 to 2020.

Snow is not expected in the Hilton Head area this week.

Beaufort County does not organize cold shelters during the winter months, leaving the responsibility to faith communities to keep the local homeless population safe from dangerous low temperatures.

Sea Island Presbyterian Church (81 Lady’s Island Drive, Beaufort)

For additional information, call the church at 843-525-0696.

Christ Lutheran Church (829 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island)

For additional information, call the church at 843-540-4299.

Both churches also opened their doors for those in need during a cold snap in early December.

Monday: Showers, mainly before 3pm. High near 66. Breezy, with a west wind around 22 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Breezy, with a west wind 13 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 48. North wind 7 to 11 mph.

Tuesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Calm wind.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 47.

Thursday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28.

Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48.

Friday night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 52.

Saturday night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.

This story was originally published January 6, 2025, 2:06 PM.

Four additional books — including the “Perks of Being a Wallflower” — could be taken off of school shelves as early as February.

At the core of the movement is Beaufort County resident Elizabeth “Ivie” Szalai, known for her previous efforts to ban 97 books at Beaufort County’s district level. She appealed to the South Carolina Board of Education to remove six books with sexual content from schools and the state Instructional Materials Review Committee on Jan. 9 recommended removing four of these books, with a final decision expected at a Feb. 4 meeting with the full, 15-member board. If the state approves Szalai’s recommendations, this would be the first time a Beaufort County resident successfully achieves a state-level book ban.

The four books in question are listed below:

The two books recommended to stay in schools by the state’s review committee include “House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros and “Bronx Masquerade” by Nikki Grimes.

The board followed guidelines set forth under Regulation 43-170, which allows the banning of books in all South Carolina public schools if the material contains any descriptions or visual descriptions of sexual conduct.

In 2022, Szalai submitted a list of 97 books to the Beaufort County School District, citing inappropriate and pornographic content. The list included the four books currently being appealed to the state. Ultimately, only five books were banned by the district.

“My district conducted book reviews, but these committees were heavily biased, putting all but five books back on the shelf,” Szalai said at the review committee meeting. “I’d like to point out that a large majority of the reviewers were educators, and they thought this material was OK. The supporters of these books will tell you that Beaufort doesn’t support removing them, but how can they profess this when the committees were so biased?”

In 2024, Szalai was cited in two pending defamation lawsuits, where two teachers alleged they were falsely labeled as “groomers” on social media and podcasts. The harassment occurred after the movement to ban books in Beaufort County schools, which garnered national media attention including from CBS News’ 60 Minutes. Many of the defendants in the lawsuit supported the book ban.

That same year, Szalai reissued challenges to several of the books with Beaufort’s local board under Regulation 43-170. Since, the local board decided not to act on these challenges within the 90-day period, it is now left to the state board for consideration.

The Feb. 4 meeting will determine whether the four books will be added to the list of seven other titles already removed from all public schools by the state.

Szalai did not respond to repeated requests for comment.