Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 5, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 5, 2001
Start: 2001-02-05T04:00
End: 2001-02-05T22:00
Location: Pennsylvania

February 5, 2001 · NWS BGM · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A coastal storm off the middle Atlantic coast on the morning of the fifth moved north while rapidly intensifying. The storm was off of Long Island, New York on the evening of the fifth.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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 coastal storm off the middle Atlantic coast on the morning of the fifth moved north while rapidly intensifying. The storm was off of Long Island, New York on the evening of the fifth. Snow moved north ahead of the storm starting by 6 AM. Snowfall rates went quickly to an inch per hour by noon. Snowfall rates were as high as 2 inches per hour closest to the storm in eastern Pike County. The snow ended during the evening as the storm moved further to the northeast. Snowfall amounts were 4 to 8 inches in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, and the eastern half of Susquehanna Counties. Snowfall amounts increased to 5 to 10 inches in Wayne County and 9 to 15 inches in Pike County. The highest amounts were in eastern Pike 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 Binghamton, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 5, 2:05 AM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 2:05 AM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
205 AM EST MON FEB 5 2001

GOOD BLAST UP CALL AND INDIVIDUAL COORD WITH ALY/PHL AND BUF. ALL IN
ALL NOT MUCH CHG TO THE CRNT FCST WITH ALL WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES
REMAINING IN PLACE. WON'T REHASH THE MDL OUTPUT BUT AVN HAS BEEN
MOST CONSISTENT WITH THE SFC LOW TRACK...WILL ALSO NOTE THAT THE OLD
NGM PROVIDES A VERY GOOD COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE LOWER AVN QPF AND
HIGHER ETA. WILL TWEEK UP AMTS TO 8-12" (FROM 6-10) FOR OUR FAR SE
ZONES OF PIKE-SULLIVAN-WAYNE AND DELAWARE WITH 5-8" AMTS JUST TO THE
NW. IN THE ADVISORY AREA (ROUGHLY CORRESPONDING TO THE I-81
CORRIDOR) MAY EXPAND RANGE FROM 2-4 TO 2-5 OR 3-6. XPCT ONLY A FEW
INCHES OVER WRN ZONES.

WILL KEEP IN CHC POPS FOR LES ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS TNGT ACRS
UPSTATE BUT DO NOT XPCT ANY ACCUMS. TMRW'S SYSTEM ACTUALLY LOOKS
PRETTY GOOD IN THE VORT AND QVEC FIELDS. WILL CONTINUE WITH LIKELY
POPS MOST AREAS WITH XCPTN OF ERN/SE ZONES WHERE WE'LL INDICATE THE
CHC FOR SOME AFTN -SHSN.

.BGM...WINTER STORM WARNING WYOMING VALLEY AND POCONOS OF PA AND
       THE WRN CATSKILLS OF NY. WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR MOST OF THE
       ADJAgCENT I-81 CORRIDOR.

BRADY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Lackawanna

When: February 5, 4:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Lackawanna forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.437, -75.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pike

When: February 5, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.332, -75.034 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Luzerne

When: February 5, 5:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Luzerne forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.177, -75.989 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wayne

When: February 5, 5:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.649, -75.303 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Susquehanna

When: February 5, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Susquehanna forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.821, -75.801 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wyoming

When: February 5, 6:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Wyoming forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.518, -76.016 (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

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5235130, 5235132, 5235131, 5235230, 5235229, 5235231.