New York, 2001

Ice Storm in New York, February 25, 2001

February 25, 2001 · NWS OKX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

With cold air in place at the surface, as warmer air moved northeast and gradually rose above this cold dome of air, snow developed around 4 am, changed to sleet around 5 am then freezing rain by 6 am. By 8:30 am, up to 1/4-inch of ice accumulated on roads, trees, and power lines.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
2

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 OKX wrote it up.

With cold air in place at the surface, as warmer air moved northeast and gradually rose above this cold dome of air, snow developed around 4 am, changed to sleet around 5 am then freezing rain by 6 am. By 8:30 am, up to 1/4-inch of ice accumulated on roads, trees, and power lines. Freezing rain ended as temperatures rose above 32 degrees by around 11 am. Total ice accumulations ranged from 1/4 to 1/3-inch, which resulted in some power outages. In Middletown, a blown transformer on Wawayanda Avenue, near the Mount Carmel School, took out power in much of downtown. Several minor traffic accidents were reported along Route 17 in Orange 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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 3:28 AM EST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 3:28 AM EST, 5 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
328 AM EST SUN FEB 25 2001

WITH THE SERLY FLO SFC TMPS HAVE WARMED TO ABOVE FREEZING COASTAL
AREAS AND INTO NERN NJ. ALOFT TMPS ARE COLD. PCPN AT THE START SNOW
AND SLEET BEFORE RAPID CHG TO RAIN AT THE CST AND CHG TO FREEZING
RAIN INLAND THEN TO RAIN. LGA OB INDICATING START OF LIGHT SNW AND
SLEET. THERE WILL NOT BE A PROLONGED PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN TO GET
THE QUARTER INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION. WL BE DOWNGRADING WARNING TO
ADVISORY INLAND AND DROPPING ADVISORY ALNG THE COAST WITH NO
FREEZING RAIN EXPECTED. PCPN LINGERS INTO THE EVENING BEFORE PASSAGE
OF COLD FRONT.

MARINE: WL POST SCA FOR ALL WATERS TODAY AND CONT SCA CONDITION INTO
MONDAY.

.OKX...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...NJZ002-NYZ067-068-CTZ005>008

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Orange

When
February 25, 8:30 AM EST
Where
Orange forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.402, -74.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Putnam

When
February 25, 8:30 AM EST
Where
Putnam forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.427, -73.749 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm
Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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: 5231765, 5231766.