Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, January 20 to 21, 2001

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, January 20 to 21, 2001
Start: 2001-01-20T12:00
End: 2001-01-21T12:00
Location: Maryland

January 20 to 21, 2001 · NWS LWX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

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: 11

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 LWX wrote it up.

A complex low pressure system moved across the Mid-Atlantic region on the 20th and 21st and brought a mixed bag of precipitation. Across southern Maryland, the precipitation fell mainly as rain but mixed with freezing rain, sleet, and light now early on the 21st. Little if any accumulation was reported. Elsewhere across Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay, rain fell through the afternoon of the 20th but changed over to sleet and snow from west to east during the evening hours. Snowfall continued overnight and ended between 4 AM and noon on the 21st. Snowfall accumulations between 4 and 8 inches were reported in counties that border Pennsylvania, with isolated reports of 10 inches in northern Frederick and Carroll counties. Montgomery and Howard counties reported 3 to 6 inches. From Prince Georges and Anne Arundel counties southward, between a trace and 2 inches of sleet and snow accumulated. Thundersnow was reported by weather observers in Chevy Chase in Montgomery County and Pasadena in Anne Arundel County. A snow accumulation rate of nearly two inches in one hour was reported in northern Carroll County. The snow and sleet caused area roads to become slippery and several traffic accidents were reported. Gusty northwest winds blew through the region during the afternoon of the 21st which caused wind chills to dip to near zero and blew some snow back onto freshly plowed roads. Wind gusts included 43 MPH at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, 44 MPH at the Hagerstown Airport, 45 MPH at Washington National Airport, and 50 MPH at Tall Timbers in St. Mary's County.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 9:50 AM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 9:50 AM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
950 AM EST SAT JAN 20 2001

EVENTS PROCEEEDG/EVOLVING IN LN WITH CURRENT THINKG AND GOING FCST.
NO SGFNT CHGS PLANNED AT THIS PT AND ANY UPDATES WUD BE COSMETIC.
NO BIG PRBLMS FOR THE DAYTM PD WITH ONLY LGT/INTMT MXD PCPN AND FOCUS
IS ON EVOLUTION OF UPR LOW AND ITS IMPACT FOR TNGT. WNTR WX ADVY IN
PLACE AND FEEL ONLY QSTN IS WHETHER IT WILL NEED TO BE UPGRADED OR
LEFT AS IS IN THE AFTN PACKAGE...DPNDG IN LRG PART ON UPR LOW AND QPF.

LRG AREA OF STEADIER RAIN ASSOCD WITH DVLPG CSTL SYS NOW OFFSHR WITH
THE CWA LEFT IN A WK AREA OF LGT/INTMT MXD PCPN BTWN THE CSTL SYS
AND THE APCHG UPR LOW. PLENTY OF COLD AIR BEGINNING TO SPILL INTO
THE AREA FM N WITH INCRG RPRTS OF SLEET AND LGT SNW MXG IN WITH DRZL
AND LGT RA MNLY N AND W. INAUGURAL ACTVTYS WILL BE DAMP AND RAW WITH
OCNL DRZL/LGT RA LATER MIXG WITH SLEET OR LGT SNW BUT STILL LGT.
NLY WNDS NOW ON THE INCRS AND TEMPS WILL GRDLY LWR AS DAY
PROGRESSES.

SCA ISSUED FOR ALL WATERS FOR INCRG NNWLY WNDS BY TNGT.

.LWX...
DC...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR ZONE
DCZ001.

MD...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR MDZ002>005.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
MDZ006>007-009>011-013>014-016>018.

VA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
VAZ021-025>031-036>042-050>051.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
VAZ052>057.

WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
WVZ048>055.

SCA ALL WATERS.

JLW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 winter storm, 2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Carroll

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Baltimore

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Baltimore forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.443, -76.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C) forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.367, -76.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Harford

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Harford forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Howard

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather, Anne Arundel

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Anne Arundel forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Prince Georges

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Prince Georges forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Allegany

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Allegany forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Washington

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.604, -77.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Frederick

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maryland in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, January 2001

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5227661, 5227662, 5227663, 5227664, 5227665, 5227666, 5227667, 5227668, 5229573, 5229574, 5229575.