Winter Storm in Vermont, March 22 to 23, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Vermont, March 22 to 23, 2001
Start: 2001-03-22T19:00
End: 2001-03-23T05:00
Location: Vermont

March 22 to 23, 2001 · NWS BTV · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A storm system moved northeast from coastal New Jersey Thursday, March 22nd into the Gulf of Maine during Friday, March 23rd. Significant snow fell across the area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 BTV wrote it up.

A storm system moved northeast from coastal New Jersey Thursday, March 22nd into the Gulf of Maine during Friday, March 23rd. Significant snow fell across the area. The snow was heavy and wet with power outages reported and a number of accidents. Snowfall was generally 10 to 30 inches with the greatest amounts in the mountains...with lesser amounts due to the shadow effect of mountains. A few reports included: Caledonia county...Sutton 11.1 inches. Essex county...Island Pond 10.5 inches. Lamoille county...Eden 26.4 inches while Morrisville received 12.5 inches. Orange county...Brookfield 23 inches. Orleans county...East Albany 24 inches and Greensboro 16.2 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 Burlington, VT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 22, 3:35 PM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 22, 3:35 PM EST, 3 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
335 PM EST THU MAR 22 2001

SFC LOW S OF BID AND MDLS SMLR IN TRACKING STORM ACRS CC LTR TNGT
AND TWD NOVA SCOTIA LT FRI.  MDLS INDCT MUCHO WRAPARND MSTR IN NW
FLOW WHICH WL PROLONG THE SNOW INTO FRI AND PSBLY FRI NGT IN SOME
LOCNS SO WL HAV TO EXTEND WRNGS INTO FRI...MAINLY FOR N VT AND
ADRNDCKS.

WV LOOP CONTS TO SHW WELL DEFINED TROP CONNECTION AND ENHANCED
CLDS ON IR LOOP WRAPPING WWD ACRS NNY/VT.  HINT OF DRY SLOT MVG INTO
S VT BUT MORE ENHANCEMENT UPSTRM SO XPCT THIS TO FILL IN.  WITH WELL
DEFINED NEG TILT TROF AND STG LL ELY INFLOW XPCT THIS CONVEYER BELT
OF DEEP MSTR/UVV TO CONT TNGT WITH OCNL MOD/HVY SNOW.  WHITE MTN
SHADOW WL CONT TNGT IN LWR ELEV OF NRN CT VLY AS STG ELY DOWNSLOPE
FLOW LMTS SNW ACCUM...BUT AS FLOW BACKS ARND TO NW FRI...SNOW SHD
BCM HVIER.

FRI...SGFNT WRAPARND/DEFORMATION SNWS PSBL IN FVRD NW FLOW UPSLOPE
AREAS AS DEEP MSTR RMNS IN PLC WITH GOOD NW FLOW AND STG H7 FGEN
SUGGESTING DEFORMATION SNOWS.  MDL QPF AFT 00Z TNGT IS 0.25-0.75
ACRS FA AND THIS CUD BE UNDERDONE IN NW FLOW FVRD UPSLOPE AREAS.
CRNT THINKING IS AN ADDITL 4-12 ACRS RGN THRU LT FRI (HVIEST OVR
HIR TRRN AND NW FLOW UPSLOPE AREAS).

CRNT SNWFALL XTRMLY VRBL AND ELEVATION DEPENDENT.  HAV RCVD RPTS OF
UP TO 16 ADRNDCKS WITH ONLY 1-3 NEAR CT VLY.  THIS WL MAKE TOTAL
SNWFALL FCST QUITE DFCLT.  WL CONT TO SPLIT SNW ACCUM FOR VLYS/HIR
ELEV AND MNTN TOTAL THRU TNGT AND ADDITL ACCUM FOR FRI.  IT IS
QUITE LKLY THAT SOME HIR TRRN LOCNS WL RCV OVER 2 FT FM THIS STORM.

SNW MAY LINGER INTO FRI EVNG AS DEEP MSTR/NW FLOW AND FGEN CONT BFR
LIFTG OUT LTR FRI NGT.  A BRF RESPITE ERLY SAT AS S/WV RDG MVS
THRU...THEN NXT STG S/WV IN NW FLOW WL SET UP POLAR VORTEX N OF
RGN.  GOOD MID LVL COOLG DURG SAT AND APCHG ARCTIC FNT WL LEAD TO
INCRD CHC SNW SHWRS...MAINLY AFTN.

EXTENDED...STUCK IN WINTER PATTERN WITH COLDER THAN NORMAL TMPS AND
CONTD CHC OF SNOW SHWRS WITH MEAN TROF ACRS NE AND NW FLOW.  BEST
CHC SNW SHWRS LKLY ON SUN THRU MON AS COLD POOL MVS OVHD THEN WAA
DVPS ON NW FLOW.

.BTV...WINTER STORM WARNING THRU TNGT VTZ001-010>012-NYZ026>028-035
       WINTER STORM WARNING THRU FRI VTZ002>009-NYZ029>031-034

KJC

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 22, 1:48 PM EST, 5 hours 12 minutes before

NYC019-031-033-089-221900-

TEST TEST TORNADO TEST WARNING - BTV-2
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
148 PM EST THU MAR 22 2001

...THIS IS TEST MESSAGE BTV-2...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON HAS ISSUED A TEST TEST

* TEST TORNADO TEST TEST WARNING TEST FOR...
  CLINTON COUNTY IN NEW YORK
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NEW YORK
  EASTERN ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY IN NEW YORK
  NORTHERN ESSEX COUNTY IN NEW YORK

* UNTIL 202 PM EST

* AT 147 PM EST...TEST MESSAGE...BTV-2...WAS ISSUED. IF THIS WERE
  A REAL TORNADO WARNING...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WOULD HAVE
  LISTED THE COMMUNITIES IN THE PATH OF THE STORM. WHAT WOULD YOU DO
  IF YOUR COMMUNITY WAS LISTED? DO YOU HAVE A DISASTER PLAN?

* THIS COMPLETES THIS TEST MESSAGE...BTV-2.

REMEMBER...ADVANCE PLANNING IS ESSENTIAL WHEN THERE IS A CHANCE FOR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER. MAKE SURE YOUR FAMILY KNOWS WHERE TO GO AND WHAT
TO DO IN THE EVENT THAT THUNDERSTORMS BECOME SEVERE.

.END

LAT...LON 4421 7525 4409 7358 4493 7352 4473 7532

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Caledonia

When: March 22, 7:00 PM EST to March 23, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Caledonia forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 44.465, -72.102 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Essex

When: March 22, 7:00 PM EST to March 23, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Essex forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 44.728, -71.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lamoille

When: March 22, 7:00 PM EST to March 23, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Lamoille forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 44.606, -72.641 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Orange

When: March 22, 7:00 PM EST to March 23, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 44.006, -72.377 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Orleans

When: March 22, 7:00 PM EST to March 23, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Orleans forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 44.829, -72.244 (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 Vermont in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Vermont, 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: 5238316, 5238317, 5238318, 5238319, 5238320.