Massachusetts, 2001

Winter Storm in Massachusetts, March 5, 2001

March 5, 2001 · NWS ALY · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 5, 9:48 AM EST, 4 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 9:48 AM EST, 4 hours 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
948 AM EST MON MAR 5 2001

.DISC...WL ISSUE AN UPDATE ARND 1000 AM. OVRNGHT AMTS CLOSE TO
FORECAST AMTS END OF THE DAY N AND W OF CAP DSTRCT. WL UP AMTS THRU
THIS EVNG BY ABT 2 TO 4 INCHES. WL BASE MCH OF FORECAST ON H8
DEFORMATION ZONE WHICH SHIFTS FM WRN AND NRN PTN OF FA INTO ERN
CTSKLS...GTR CAP DSTRCT AND SRN VT 18Z AND THEN INTO TACONICS AND
BERKS TNGHT WHICH THEN BECOMES FAIRLY STATIONARY THRU MCH OF OVRNGHT
PD. WL EXTEND AREA OF MIXED PCPN A LITTLE FRTHR N INTO CTSKLS AND
BERKS AS WELL AS UP HDSN VLY TO CLOSE TO CAP DSTRCT. A MIXTURE OF
SNOW AND SLEET HAS BEEN REPORTED AS FAR NORTH AS CATSKILL THIS MRNG.
SEE LATEST PNS FOR SNOWFALL TOTALS THUS FAR.

.ALY...WINTER STORM WARNING THRU TUE NYZ032-033-038>043-047>054-
       058>061-063>066-VTZ013-014-MAZ001-CTZ001

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Berkshire

When
March 5, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Berkshire forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.371, -73.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A large storm center formed off the mid Atlantic coast on the morning of March 5. The low proceeded slowly to the north, off the DelMarVa peninsula, then the coast of New Jersey, and reached just south of central Long Island by late in the day. During the overnight hours, a strong upper level disturbance, diving south from the eastern Great Lakes, added energy to the storm helping it to temporarily track to the west and nearly stall near New York city. The cyclone then pulled to the southeast, away from Long Island later on March 6. This storm became the biggest nor'easter of the winter season as it produced an extended period of moderate to heavy snow across Berkshire County. One to two feet of snow fell across the region. A little sleet and even freezing rain mixed in during the day Monday. Specific snowfall reports included 17.9 inches at Williamstown and 24.9 inches at Savoy. Besides the usual school closings and some business closings, no unusual problems were reported to the National Weather Service with this storm.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, 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: 5234203.