Winter Storm in New York, March 30, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in New York, March 30, 2001
Start: 2001-03-30T08:00
End: 2001-03-30T15:00
Location: New York

March 30, 2001 · NWS ALY · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A low pressure center formed over southeastern Pennsylvania early on March 29th. This storm tracked northeast, off the New Jersey coast, to become the fourth and final nor'easter of March.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: $80,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 ALY wrote it up.

A low pressure center formed over southeastern Pennsylvania early on March 29th. This storm tracked northeast, off the New Jersey coast, to become the fourth and final nor'easter of March. By the end of the day, this low pressure was centered north of Cape Cod. The storm was weak, however it tapped into a rich supply of Atlantic moisture. While a mix of snow sleet and rain fell in valley locations, very wet heavy snow once again buried portions of the higher terrain. Six to 12 inches of slushy snow fell over the Catskills, western Adirondacks and elevated sections of the Mohawk Valley. Specific amounts included 8 inches at East Jewett and 10 at Prattsville, both in Greene County. 8.5 and 8.7 inches fell in Galway and Hadely respectively, both in Saratoga County. 10 inches was reported in Delanson, Schenectady County and 11 inches in Sumit, Schoharie County. 10.4 inches fell in the town of Warrensburg in Warren County. The combination of wet snow and sleet produced downed limbs and trees throughout Herkimer county. On West German Street, in the town of Herkimer, a large tree uprooted and knocked down some wires. Wires were also downed at several other locations in other portions of Herkimer County, as well as places in Fulton and Schoharie Counties.

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 30, 4:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 4:00 AM EST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
400 AM EST FRI MAR 30 2001

.DISC...

SHORT TERM...WRKZFP SHORTLY.  A DIFFICULT FORECAST TO SAY THE
LEAST.  THE ONLY GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE MODELS SEEM TO BE IN FAIRLY
GOOD AGREEMENT AS TO TRACK OF STORM.  SMALL DISCREPENCIES BETWEEN
THE MODELS LIE WITHIN THE SMALL TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS WHICH CAN
MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ALL RAIN EVENT...ALL SNOW EVENT OR A
MIXTURE.  ETA AND NGM BOTH INDICATE A MAINLY SNOW EVENT AT GFL WILL
ALL RAIN AT POU.  ELEVATION WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  TOTAL QPFS OF
ABOUT ONE HALF TO ONE AND A QUARTER INCHES ARE
INDICATED...OVERRRUNNING AND ISENTROPIC LIFT BEING THE MAIN FEATURES
FOR THIS.  BELIEVE MOST PCPN WILL BE IN SOUTHEAST PORTION OF
FA...NGM AND AVN AGREE...ETA IS MORE AGGRESSIVE TOWARD NORTH AND
DONT BELIEVE IT.  WILL GO WITH LITTLE OR NO ACCUMULATION IN THE MID
HUDSON VALLEY WITH RAIN HEAVY AT TIMES.  LOW WILL TRACK NORTHEAST
JUST TO SOUTH OF FA.  WITH FLOOD GUIDANCE IN THE 2.5 TO 3 INCH
RANGE...WILL KEEP FLOOD WATCH SOUTHERN ZONES AS SOME PRECIPITATION
HAS ALREADY BEEN REALIZED.  BELIEVE HIGHEST AMOUNTS WILL BE
HERE...ALTHOUGH FLOOD THREAT NOW APPEARS MARGINAL.  WILL NOT EXTEND
THE WATCHES ANY FURTHER NORTH....AS FROM ALB NORTH...NOT ALL THE
PRECIP WILL BE IN THE FORM OF RAIN.  AS FOR SNOW...WILL GO WITH
WARNING FOR HAMILTON AND NORTHERN HERKIMER FOR 4 TO 8 INCH
AMOUNTS...WITH ADVISORIES FOR MOHAWK  VALLEY...LAKE GEORGE
SARATOGA...WASHINGTON COUNTY...CATSKILLS...CAPITAL REGION AND
BERKSHIRES.  WILL TRIM TEMPS A FEW DEGREES FROM LATEST GUIDANCE.

LONG TERM...COLDER AIR BEHIND EXITING LOW TONIGHT COULD CHANGE
PRECIP BACK TO ALL SNOW BRIEFLY BEFORE TAPERING ALB NORTH...BUT
ENOUGH MOISTURE LEFT SO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RULE OUT CHANCE RAIN/SNOW
SHOWERS FOR SATURDAY.  PRECIP LIFTS OUT QUICKLY LATE TONIGHT.

.EXTENDED...ANOTHER LOW MOVES UP APPALACHIANS FOR SUNDAY NIGHT/
MONDAY.  LOOKS LIKE A CARBON COPY OF TODAY.  PERHAPS A BRIEF RESPOT
ON WEDNESDAY.

.ALY...FFA FRI/FRI NGT NYZ058>061-063>066-MAZ001-CTZ001-
WS WARNING FRI NYZ032-033
WW ADVISORY NY038-043-047-058-063-VTZ013-014-

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. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Fulton

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.114, -74.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.661, -74.497 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Herkimer

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Herkimer forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Saratoga

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Saratoga forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.561, -73.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Greene

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Western Greene forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Herkimer

When: March 30, 8:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Herkimer forecast zone
Property damage: $45,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Schoharie

When: March 30, 9:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Schoharie forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.588, -74.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Schenectady

When: March 30, 9:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Western Schenectady forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New York in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, 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: 5236983, 5236984, 5236985, 5236986, 5236988, 5236989, 5236991, 5236987, 5236990.