Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, March 4 to 5, 2001

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, March 4 to 5, 2001
Start: 2001-03-04T14:00
End: 2001-03-05T12:00
Location: Maryland

March 4 to 5, 2001 · NWS LWX · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 8

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 Nor'easter formed off the coast of North Carolina and moved northward along the Atlantic seaboard on the 4th and 5th. This storm brought moisture onshore and resulted in two days of precipitation across the Mid Atlantic area. As the storm passed by the Delmarva Peninsula a strong easterly wind pushed tides along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay about 2 feet above normal which resulted in minor flooding at high tide from late evening on the 4th through the early morning hours of the 5th. Because temperatures were above freezing for most of the storm, a majority of the precipitation fell as rain, especially south and east of Washington D.C. and Baltimore. North and east of Baltimore and Washington D.C. to Hagerstown and average of 1.5 to 3 inches of snow was recorded and a brief period of sleet was also noted. In the high terrain of northwest Frederick County, 5.8 inches of snow fell. From Hagerstown to Frostburg, a total of 3 to 5 inches of snow accumulated. From Frostburg to the Garrett/Allegany border, a period of lake effect snow following the main storm on the 6th left an additional 5 inches along the ridges. Frostburg ended up with a grand total of 9.5 inches. After the precipitation from the Nor'easter ended, northwest winds gusted up to 40 MPH during the afternoon and evening of the 5th.

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 Mar 4, 10:25 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 4, 10:25 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1025 AM EST SUN MAR 4 2001

WILL BE UPDATING FORECAST BY 1045 AM. ISSUING WINTER STORM WARNING
FOR MD COUNTIES FROM CARROLL WEST THROUGH ALLEGANY.. AND FOR PORTION
OF WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE.  MDOT WEATHER CAMS INDICATING THAT
ELEVATIONS ABOVE 800 FT OR SO ARE SEEING ACCUMULATING SNOW OR A MIX
OF SNOW SLEET AND RAIN.. AND CALLS FROM LOCAL OBSERVERS INDICATING
AS MUCH AS 2 INCHES HAS ALREADY ACCUMULATED IN THE HIGHER
ELEVATIONS. BAND OF WARM ADVECTION PRECIP EXPECTED TO PASS ACROSS
NRN AND WRN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON WITH QPF TOTALS AROUND .50 INCH.
LOOKS LIKE LOWER ELEVATIONS MAY ESCAPE WITH JUST A MIX THIS
AFTERNOON.. BUT HIGHER ELEVATIONS COULD SEE A SIGNIFICANT
ACCUMULATION THROUGH THE DAY.. AND WILL WORD SO IN THE WSW AND
ZONES.

SOME REPORTS OF SLEET MIXED IN WITH THE RAIN OVER PORTIONS OF
BALTIMORE AND  MONTGOMERY COUNTY. WILL PROBABLY ADD A MENTION OF
THIS IN FOR THE AFTERNOON FORECAST.

HAVE MADE ONLY COSMETIC CHANGES TO TONIGHT PERIOD TO ACCOUNT FOR
TRANSITION BETWEEN PERIODS.. WILL EVALUATE 12Z RUNS BEFORE DECIDING
ON ANY MORE CHANGES.

.LWX...
DC...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT FOR
ZONE DCZ001.

MD...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT MDZ002>005.  WINTER
STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES
MDZ006>007...MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.

VA...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT FOR
ZONES VAZ021...VAZ025>031...VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057.

WV...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT WVZ048>051-055.
WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUG|H MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES
WVZ052>054.

MARINE...SCA TIDAL POTOMAC AND MD PORTION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY.

MARGRAF!

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 winter weather, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Allegany

When: March 4, 2:00 PM EST to March 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Allegany forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather, Washington

When: March 4, 2:00 PM EST to March 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.604, -77.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Frederick

When: March 4, 2:00 PM EST to March 5, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Frederick forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Carroll

When: March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 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 Weather, Northern Baltimore

When: March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 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 Weather, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)

When: March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 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 Weather, Harford

When: March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Harford forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather, Montgomery

When: March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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, March 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5239714, 5239715, 5239716, 5239717, 5239718, 5239719, 5239720, 5239721.