Personal Injury Attorney in Beaufort, SC

As the one-year anniversary of the January 2025 snowstorm approaches, many Hilton Head and Beaufort residents are watching the forecast closely — wondering if the winter weather could make a return this weekend.

While very cold air is moving into the Lowcountry, the National Weather Service says confidence remains low that Hilton Head or Beaufort will see any snow.

Here’s the latest forecast and what residents can expect:

Cold weather for Friday morning

A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday as temperatures drop well below freezing overnight.

Lows will dip into the upper teens and lower 20s, with freezing conditions expected to last for 8 to 12 hours.

With these conditions, residents should protect pets, plants and pipes. Sea Island Presbyterian in Beaufort and Christ Lutheran Church on Hilton Head are opening warming shelters at 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening until 7:30 a.m. Friday morning for those in need.

Weekend forecast: Is snow in the mix?

A developing coastal system will bring colder air into the Lowcountry this weekend, with rain expected late Saturday night into Sunday.

While temperatures will be chilly, the NWS says confidence remains low that Hilton Head or Beaufort will see snow, with the area only holding a 30-50% chance of precipitation.

Forecasters note that rain could briefly mix with snow late Saturday night or early Sunday, but coastal areas are expected to remain mostly rain. The better chance for snow — including minor accumulations — will be well west of the I-95 corridor.

The NWS notes that while precipitation chances have increased for Sunday morning, the likelihood of impactful winter weather along the coast is less than 10%.

Here’s the day-by-day forecast breakdown:

Saturday

Saturday night

Sunday

Sunday night

Looking ahead

Behind the system, temperatures turn colder again, with Monday morning lows reaching the mid-20s across the region.

While this weekend will feel colder — and memories of last year’s snowstorm are still fresh — Hilton Head and Beaufort are more likely to see cold rain than snow, with only a low chance of minor winter impacts like low visibility and slick sidewalks or walkways.

For the latest forecast and updates, visit the National Weather Service.

This is a developing story. Information will be added as it becomes available.

A Beaufort County pediatrician and founder of Palmetto Pediatrics of the Lowcountry was taken into custody Friday for driving under the influence.

Dr. Lance Lowe was arrested by South Carolina Highway Patrol Friday night, booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center just after 9:30 p.m. and released the following afternoon, according to jail records. While his author page has since been removed from the medical practice’s website, his employment status was unknown at the time of publication.

Lowe was one of the drivers involved in a car collision Friday night near Highway 170 and Okatie Center Blvd., according to Trooper Nick Pye of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. He then refused to take breathalyzer test, Pye confirmed with the newspaper.

The accident took place less than two miles from the provider’s Okatie office located in the Legacy Medical Plaza off Highway 170. Their Hilton Head office is on Main Street.

Lowe was charged with driving under license suspension and for driving under the influence, and his cash bond was set at about $1,664, according to court records. The charge suggests his license was not suspended due to a DUI charge.

A history of DUIs

This was not the first time the pediatrician was charged with driving while under the influence in the Lowcountry.

On Dec. 13, 2014, Lowe was charged with a DUI, child endangerment and open containers of beer and liquor in Charleston, according to an order from the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and State Board of Medical Examiners.

A month later, Lowe’s license to practice medicine was temporarily suspended by the department. He was reinstated to practice medicine on May 7 of that year, according to Lowe’s public action history with the department. In 2016, he was fined $200 and was publicly reprimanded for the incident, according to department documents.

He was issued his original license to practice medicine in 2001, which is set to expire in mid-2027. As of Monday, Lowe’s license to practice medicine remained in good standing with the state’s department.

Lowe’s employment status was unknown at the time of initial publication. While he is still listed as a doctor on the practice’s website, his biography page is missing. The Wayback Machine, an online archive that captures previous versions of web pages somewhat randomly, suggests that his author page was active as recently as November.

The provider’s office told the newspaper they were working on a prepared statement Monday afternoon.

The newspaper attempted to contact Lowe through three local landline phone numbers attached with his name but were unsuccessful in reaching him.

The Island Packet does not publish the names of individuals who were charged with misdemeanor crimes unless the accused is a public figure or if revealing their name is a matter of public interest.

Five Beaufort County food businesses and two Jasper County locations received B and C grades in December health inspections conducted by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Here is a rundown of the restaurants that received the lowest ratings for the month and why they scored poorly:

El Don Juan: 1 Mathews Court, Suite C, Hilton Head

El Don Juan had a routine inspection on Dec. 1 and scored a 78% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:

El Don Juan was reinspected on Dec. 10 and scored a 100% (A).

La Marmota: 1180 Ribaut Road, Unit 6, Beaufort

La Marmota had a routine inspection on Dec. 8 and scored an 83% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:

La Marmota was reinspected on Dec. 18 and scored a 100% (A).

Productos Moreno LLC La Casita: 163 Bluffton Road, Suite G, Bluffton

Productos Moreno LLC La Casita had a routine inspection on Dec. 11 and scored an 85% (B). Issues noted included:

Productos Moreno LLC La Casita was reinspected on Dec. 19 and scored 100% (A).

Red Rooster Cafe: 2045 Boundary Street, Beaufort

Red Rooster Cafe had a routine inspection on Dec. 30 and scored an 84% (B). Issues noted by inspectors included:

Red Rooster Cafe has not been reinspected as of Jan. 6, but one is required within 10 days.

Tiger Express #12: 1 Fairfield Road, Beaufort

Tiger Express #12 had a routine inspection on Dec. 19 and scored an 86% (B). Issues included:

Tiger Express #12 was reinspected on Dec. 29 and scored 100% (A).

Dean O’s Enterprises LLC Savannah Pizza Company: 22141 Whyte Hardee Boulevard, Hardeeville

Savannah Pizza Company had a routine inspection on Dec. 18 and scored a 92% with a C letter grade for repeated infractions from previous inspections. These repeated issues included:

Savannah Pizza Company was reinspected again on Dec. 29 and scored a 98% with a C letter grade for a consecutive violation:

Savannah Pizza Company has not been reinspected as of Jan. 6, but the SCDA report says one is not required.

Roxy’s Restaurant: 11382 North Jacob Smart Boulevard, Ridgeland

Roxy’s Restaurant had a follow-up inspection on Dec. 10 and scored a 98% with a B letter grade for a pest issue. Inspectors noted:

Roxy’s Restaurant was reinspected on Dec. 29 and scored a 100% (A).

What the grades mean

Inspectors give restaurants a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for various infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score in a reinspection.

The grade scale is as follows:

In December, the SCDA recorded 197 inspections of restaurants, schools, stores, and other food establishments in Beaufort County and 39 in Jasper County.

The agency publishes the results of these health inspections on its website. Newer food-grade decals include a QR code that customers can scan with their phones to see a food establishment’s latest report.

How to request an inspection

If there is an establishment for which you wish to request an inspection, you can submit a concern to the SCDA by filling out this Food Safety Complaint Form.

To learn more about how the grading system and inspections work, click here.

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 ridgelines through a primordial wonderland.

Ahead, the best things to do in Beaufort, South Carolina, from local shopping to exploring the restaurant scene to appreciating the area's subdued beauty.

Visit Hunting Island

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.

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

Join Tabernacle Baptist Church for Worship at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays and for a prayer meeting and Bible study at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.

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

The Beaufort Inn Historic main inn plus several cottages clustered around a courtyard beaufortinn.com; 809 Port Republic St, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

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

What To Eat And Drink

Blackstone's Café Classic diner-like options blackstonescafe.com; 205 Scott Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

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

Lowcountry Produce Kitchen Locally sourced salads and sandwiches and a legendary tomato pie lowcountryproduce.com; 302 Carteret St, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

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

Plums Waterfront dining featuring soups, salads, and sandwiches plumsrestaurant.com; 904 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

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

Old Bull Tavern Gastropub featuring a lively bar scene and a lamb shank that does not disappoint oldbulltavern.com; 205 West Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

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

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

Wren Bistro & BarModern-American food with low country hospitalitywrenbeaufort.com; 210 Carteret St., Beaufort, SC 29902

Where To Shop

Cabana22 Coastal-chic boutique cabana22.com; 819 Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

The Chocolate Tree Confections such as fudge, truffles, and peanut brittle facebook.com; 507 Carteret Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

The Beaufort Candy Shop Classic candies and sweet treats of every kind; 103 West Street Extension, Beaufort, South Carolina 29906

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

Cassandra Gillens Art / Gullah Art in De Woods Paintings, posters, and gifts; 711 Bladen Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29906

Good Aura Sustainable clothing and jewelry boutique shopgoodaura.com; 221 West Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902

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

What To Do

Hunting Island; St. Phillips Island; southcarolinaparks.comPat Conroy Literary Center; Coastal Expeditions; Reconstruction Era National Historic Park; nps.gov/reerSpanish Moss Trail; Craven Street en route to The Old Point to explore historic neighborhoods

Event is culinary extension of Beaufort Oyster Festival

From staff reports

Tides to Tables Restaurant Week, featuring local restaurants and their amazing cuisine, opens Friday, Jan. 9, opening the week-long run up to the Beaufort Oyster Festival, to be held on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17 and 18.

The event is hosted by the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association (BAHA) in partnership with the Beaufort-Port Royal-Sea Islands Convention and Visitors Bureau and in conjunction with South Carolina Restaurant Week.

Participating local restaurants typically offer an existing menu item at a special discount price or a special multi-course menu or a special featured appetizer or cocktail.

Participating restaurants this year include Sea Sea’s Honey Hole Bait & Tackle Shop, Chef Frank’s Bistro, The Fillin’ Station, Q on Bay, Shellring Ale Works, Scratch Italian Kitchen, Rotten Little Bastard Distillery, Breakwater, Ribaut Social Club, Dockside and more.

Menus for the participating restaurants can be found at https://bit.ly/49G74M9 or the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association’s Facebook page.

New for this year is SALT – Savoring Authentic Lowcountry Tradition.

SALT is the premier kickoff to Tides to Tables Restaurant Week, the culinary extension of the Beaufort Oyster Festival.

SALT takes place from 7 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 10 at Tabby Place in Beaufort. The event unites 15 of Beaufort’s top chefs, restaurateurs, and local producers for an immersive tasting experience highlighting the essence of tidal cuisine — dishes shaped by the rhythm of our waters and the heart of our hospitality.

This is a cocktail formal event. Guests are encouraged to dress in elevated cocktail attire to complement this upscale culinary experience. i.e., No jeans, t-shirts, or casual wear. Dresses and suits encouraged.

Tickets, which are $100 and can be purchased at www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/SALT26, include live entertainment, beer and wine all evening. This is a 21-and-up event.