Massachusetts, 1998

Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, December 29 to 30, 1998

December 29 to 30, 1998 · NWS BOX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A low pressure system passing southeast of Cape Cod brought heavy snowfall of up to 7 inches to the highest elevations in Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, and northern Worcester Counties. 0 inches in Belchertown.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 BOX wrote it up.

A low pressure system passing southeast of Cape Cod brought heavy snowfall of up to 7 inches to the highest elevations in Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, and northern Worcester Counties. Some of the highest totals reported include 7.0 inches in Phillipston and Tully Lake, 6.6 inches in Westfield, 6.5 inches in Goshen, and 6.0 inches in Belchertown.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Western Franklin

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Western Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.583, -72.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Franklin

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.583, -72.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Worcester

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Worcester forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Hampshire

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Western Hampshire forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.340, -72.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western Hampden

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Western Hampden forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.135, -72.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Hampshire

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Hampshire forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.340, -72.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Hampden

When
December 29, 9:00 PM EST to December 30, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Hampden forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.135, -72.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Massachusetts in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, December 1998

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5677778, 5677779, 5677780, 5677781, 5677782, 5677783, 5677784.