Vermont, 2001

Winter Storm in Vermont, December 9, 2001

December 9, 2001 · NWS ALY · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An area of low pressure developed along a stalled front, which was located south of the Mason-Dixon Line, late on December 8th. This low had lots of subtropical moisture to work with, as it moved east along the front, then off the Mid Atlantic coast by Sunday, December 9th.

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 ALY wrote it up.

An area of low pressure developed along a stalled front, which was located south of the Mason-Dixon Line, late on December 8th. This low had lots of subtropical moisture to work with, as it moved east along the front, then off the Mid Atlantic coast by Sunday, December 9th. The air was cold enough for all snow across southern Vermont. A band of heavier snowfall, 4 to 8 inches, accumulated across extreme southern Vermont. Seven inches of snow fell at Pownal, Bennington County and 8 fell at Marlboro in Windham County Vermont.

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 Dec 8, 8:45 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 8, 8:45 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
845 PM EST SAT DEC 8 2001

.DISC...
LT/MOD SNOW FALLING ACRS CWA ATTM WITH HVST ACTION OFF TO OUR SW
MOVG TWD THE NE. PRVS FCST LKS OK AND WILL CONT WITH WWA FOR
RGN...NO CHNGS PLANNED ATTM.

.SHORT TERM...
MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW THREAT WITH ACCUMULATION RATES FROM 0.5 TO 1
INCH/HR WILL CONTINUE FROM CENTRAL NY/NCENTRAL PA EWD ACROSS THE
CATSKILLS AND ECENTRAL NY THROUGH 10 OR 11 PM...BEFORE DEVELOPING
ACROSS WRN MA AND FAR SRN VT BETWEEN 10 PM AND 1 AM.

THE  00Z SFC MESOANALYSIS SHOWS SURFACE WET BULB FREEZING ISOTHERM
EXTENDS FROM NEAR BUF SEWD INTO CENTRAL PA THEN ENEWD ACROSS FAR
NERN PA/NWRN NJ INTO FAR NWRN CT/NRN RI. A SECONDARY AREA OF MAX
PRESSURE FALLS LOCATED OVER FAR NCENTRAL PA/SCENTRAL NY...WAS LIKELY
DUE TO MODEST LOW LEVEL WAA AND ENHANCED VERTICAL MOTION ASSOCIATED
WITH RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF NRN NEW ENGLAND JET MAX. LATEST RUC40
MODEL FORECASTS AGREE WITH CURRENT OBSERVATIONS THAT TWO AREAS OF
DEEP LAYER VERTICAL MOTION WILL SHIFT ENEWD ACROSS THE REGION
THROUGH 09Z.

MODERATE-STRONG MID LEVEL FRONTOGENETIC FORCING COMBINED WITH DEEP
VERTICAL MOTION IN ENTRANCE REGION OF UPPER JET WILL SUPPORT
CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW BANDS FROM SCENTRAL
NY/CATSKILL MTNS EWD INTO WRN MA/NWRN CT AND SRN VT THROUGH 05Z.
ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES IN LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE REGION ARE FROM
32-34 F...WET BULB TEMPERATURES SUPPORT ACCUMULATING SNOWS ACROSS
THE ENTIRE AREA.

.ALY...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT NYZ063>066-CTZ001
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NYZ038>043-047>054-058>061-MAZ001-
       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

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Bennington

When
December 9, 1:00 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where
Bennington forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.036, -73.093 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Windham

When
December 9, 2:00 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where
Windham forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.991, -72.714 (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

More

Every storm in Vermont in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Vermont, December 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: 5274597, 5274598.