News

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The City of Hartsville is sharing the following information from Duke Energy as meteorologists continue to monitor a potential winter weather system that could impact South Carolina this weekend.

According to Duke Energy, forecasts are indicating a chance of ice, snow, and freezing rain, though specific impacts remain highly uncertain at this time. Duke Energy meteorologists are closely tracking the storm and updating forecast models, which guide how the company prepares and mobilizes crews and resources if needed.

Current weather models show cold high pressure moving from the Great Lakes into the Northeast on Friday before building southward into the Carolinas over the weekend. At the same time, an active storm track is expected to develop from the Gulf Coast toward the southeastern U.S. coastline. Forecast models generally agree that cold air will be in place ahead of the storm system—creating the potential for wintry precipitation—though the exact storm track and the transition between snow, sleet, and ice remain difficult to predict this far in advance.

Residents are reminded that the National Weather Service is the official source for weather forecasts and alerts.

Duke Energy emphasized that it works year-round to strengthen the electric grid and reduce the impact of outages during severe weather. Ongoing improvements include tree trimming around power lines, pole and line upgrades, and the expansion of smart, self-healing grid technology.

Self-healing technology allows the electric system to automatically detect outages and reroute power when possible, restoring service more quickly for customers. In 2025, this technology helped Duke Energy avoid more than 1.4 million customer outages across the Carolinas, saving an estimated 3.1 million total hours of outage time. Nearly one-quarter of these benefits occurred during major storms.

In South Carolina specifically, smart, self-healing technology helped avoid more than 170,000 customer outages in 2025, saving approximately 320,000 outage hours. Nearly 75 percent of Duke Energy customers in South Carolina—about 640,000 customers—now benefit from this technology, a threefold increase since 2023. More than 400,000 customers have been added over the past three years.

The City of Hartsville encourages residents to stay informed, prepare early for the possibility of winter weather impacts, and continue to monitor official forecasts and local updates as the weekend approaches.