Heavy Snow, Cecil
- When
- February 2, 6:00 PM EST to February 3, 6:00 AM EST
- Where
- Cecil forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Maryland, February 2 to 3, 1996
A series of low pressure systems over the western Atlantic brought heavy snow and sleet to the Maryland Eastern Shore. The first low pressure system brought a swath of snow that accumulated three to six inches across most of the eastern shore except for Cecil County by noon on the 2nd.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
A series of low pressure systems over the western Atlantic brought heavy snow and sleet to the Maryland Eastern Shore. The first low pressure system brought a swath of snow that accumulated three to six inches across most of the eastern shore except for Cecil County by noon on the 2nd. All public and private schools were closed in Caroline County. The heavy snow caused numerous auto accidents in Talbot and Caroline Counties where the highest accumulations were. The second low pressure system brought the next swath of snow farther northwest and covered the entire Eastern Shore. Some relatively warmer air above the ground caused the snow to mix with sleet across the area except for Cecil County. This kept accumulations lower than they could have been if precipitation was all snow. Total accumulations averaged six to seven inches in Cecil County and around one foot in Kent, Queen Anne's, Caroline and Talbot Counties. Nine inches of snow fell in Chestertown. Other accumulations from around the Delmar Region included 7 inches in Wilmington and Baltimore, 11 inches in Salisbury and Dover and 24 inches in Bridgeville.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in North Carolina, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Illinois, February 2 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Illinois, February 2 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Louisiana, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Tennessee, February 2 to 3, 1996
- Cold in Ohio, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Mississippi, February 2 to 5, 1996
- Tornado in Florida, February 2, 1996
- Ice Storm in North Carolina, February 2, 1996
- Tornado in Florida, February 2, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, February 2 to 3, 1996
- Flash Flood in Alabama, February 2, 1996
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5551587.