New York, 2001

Heavy Snow in New York, February 2 to 3, 2001

February 2 to 3, 2001 · NWS BGM · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A strong arctic cold front moved east across the region on the afternoon of the second. The front brought with it snow squalls with thunder.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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 BGM wrote it up.

A strong arctic cold front moved east across the region on the afternoon of the second. The front brought with it snow squalls with thunder. Snow amounts were mostly 1 to 3 inches with the front. There were also some reports of 4 and 5 inches in northern Oneida County. This wet heavy snow fell in an hour or less, causing white out conditions. Many accidents occurred closing several of the interstates. When the snow started road surfaces where above freezing. Road surfaces cooled quickly creating ice. Behind the front an arctic west wind caused lake effect snow across northern Onondaga, northern Madison, and Oneida Counties from around 6 PM on the second to around 5 AM on the third. A band of heavy lake effect snow started in northern Oneida County then moved south into southern Oneida, Onondaga, and Madison Counties between 9 and 11 PM. Heavy snow, at rates of around an inch per hour, combined with sustained winds over 20 mph to create blowing and drifting snow and white out conditions. Lake effect snowfall amounts in this area was an additional 4 to 6 inches.

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 Binghamton, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 2, 10:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 10:00 AM EST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
1000 AM EST FRI FEB 2 2001

SNOW HAS BROKEN OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. BELIEVE THIS
RELATIVELY LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE BUT ACCUMS WILL BE LIMITED DUE TO MELTING
WITH TEMPS AROUND OR A BIT ABOVE FREEZING. THE MAIN SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR AS THE
FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION AND IS ACCOMPANIED BY A BIT OF A SNOWBURST.
WITH THIS IN MIND WILL KEEP THE CURRENT MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON WORDING.

HOWEVER...WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LIGHTER THAN CURRENTLY
FORECAST. BELIEVE WINDS WILL PICK UP AFTER FROPA BUT WILL HAVE TO TWEAK WINDS
FOR THE SHORT TERM.

.BGM...LAKE EFFECT SNOW ADVISORY ONONDAGA/MADISON AND ONEIDA COUNTIES.

SPORER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Madison

When
February 2, 2:00 PM EST to February 3, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.913, -75.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Oneida

When
February 2, 2:00 PM EST to February 3, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Oneida forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Onondaga

When
February 2, 2:00 PM EST to February 3, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Onondaga forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.006, -76.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Oneida

When
February 2, 2:00 PM EST to February 3, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Oneida forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cortland

When
February 2, 2:30 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where
Cortland forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.595, -76.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chenango

When
February 2, 3:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where
Chenango forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.494, -75.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tioga

When
February 2, 3:00 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where
Tioga forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.170, -76.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Broome

When
February 2, 3:30 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Broome forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.160, -75.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Otsego

When
February 2, 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Otsego forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.634, -75.033 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
February 2, 4:30 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.198, -74.966 (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 New York in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, February 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: 5235121, 5235122, 5235123, 5235125, 5235119, 5235118, 5235126, 5235117, 5235124, 5235120.