Vigilant eyes spotted a rare sight early this morning — snow at Castle Pinckney.

John Mahoney, one of many castle guardians who takes care of the historic fort on Shute’s Folly in Charleston Harbor, thought he saw snow at the site when driving over the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge around 9:30 a.m..

He did!

Charleston has received three inches of snow since Tuesday, the last major snowfall the city has received since Jan. 3, 2018.

Mahoney called fellow Castle Guardian Matthew Locke, who within minutes used the security cameras at Castle Pinckney to confirm the rare event. Locke then used the cameras to capture the pictures shown below:

One security camera, pointing westward toward the Ashley River, shows this scene. The white steeple of St. Michael’s Church (top-right) is barely visible on the Charleston waterfront.

A second security camera, pointing eastward toward Sullivan’s Island, captured this scene. Fort Sumter (top-right) is barely visible on the horizon.

Meanwhile, The Gadsden Flag continues to fly in the bitterly cold wind over Castle Pinckney. The flag was hoisted over the fort on Nov. 30, 2024, and rehoisted over the site on Jan. 10, 2025. (See earlier posting)

A third security camera, pointing toward Morris Island and the Ashley River side of Charleston Harbor, shows The Gadsden Flag flying in the “dawn’s early light.” For a live view of this flag or any flag flying over Castle Pinckney, visit live viewing.