Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, January 20 to 21, 2001

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, January 20 to 21, 2001
Start: 2001-01-20T12:00
End: 2001-01-21T12:00
Location: Virginia

January 20 to 21, 2001 · NWS LWX · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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: 14

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 LWX wrote it up.

A complex low pressure system moved across the Mid-Atlantic region on the 20th and 21st and bright a mixed bag of precipitation. Across the central and northern Piedmont, the precipitation fell mainly as rain but mixed with freezing rain, sleet and light snow on the 21st. Little if any accumulation was reported. Elsewhere across the northern third of Virginia, rain fell through the afternoon of the 20th bu changed over the sleet and snow from west to east during the evening. Snowfall continued overnight and ended between 4 AM and noon on the 21st. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 2 to 4 inches across the Shenandoah Valley, 3 to 6 inches near the Blue Ridge and Catoctin mountain ranges, and 1 to 3 inches elsewhere. Isolated reports of thundersnow and snow accumulation rates of one inch per hour were received. The snow and sleet caused area roads to become slippery and several traffic accidents were reported, including one incident where a man was killed on Interstate 81. Gusty northwest winds blew during the afternoon of the 21st which caused wind chills to dip to near zero and blew some snow back onto freshly plowed roads. Wind gusts included 43 MPH at Dulles International Airport and 45 MPH at Washington Reagan National Airport.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 9:50 AM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 9:50 AM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
950 AM EST SAT JAN 20 2001

EVENTS PROCEEEDG/EVOLVING IN LN WITH CURRENT THINKG AND GOING FCST.
NO SGFNT CHGS PLANNED AT THIS PT AND ANY UPDATES WUD BE COSMETIC.
NO BIG PRBLMS FOR THE DAYTM PD WITH ONLY LGT/INTMT MXD PCPN AND FOCUS
IS ON EVOLUTION OF UPR LOW AND ITS IMPACT FOR TNGT. WNTR WX ADVY IN
PLACE AND FEEL ONLY QSTN IS WHETHER IT WILL NEED TO BE UPGRADED OR
LEFT AS IS IN THE AFTN PACKAGE...DPNDG IN LRG PART ON UPR LOW AND QPF.

LRG AREA OF STEADIER RAIN ASSOCD WITH DVLPG CSTL SYS NOW OFFSHR WITH
THE CWA LEFT IN A WK AREA OF LGT/INTMT MXD PCPN BTWN THE CSTL SYS
AND THE APCHG UPR LOW. PLENTY OF COLD AIR BEGINNING TO SPILL INTO
THE AREA FM N WITH INCRG RPRTS OF SLEET AND LGT SNW MXG IN WITH DRZL
AND LGT RA MNLY N AND W. INAUGURAL ACTVTYS WILL BE DAMP AND RAW WITH
OCNL DRZL/LGT RA LATER MIXG WITH SLEET OR LGT SNW BUT STILL LGT.
NLY WNDS NOW ON THE INCRS AND TEMPS WILL GRDLY LWR AS DAY
PROGRESSES.

SCA ISSUED FOR ALL WATERS FOR INCRG NNWLY WNDS BY TNGT.

.LWX...
DC...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR ZONE
DCZ001.

MD...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR MDZ002>005.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
MDZ006>007-009>011-013>014-016>018.

VA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
VAZ021-025>031-036>042-050>051.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
VAZ052>057.

WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR
WVZ048>055.

SCA ALL WATERS.

JLW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 winter storm, 7 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Frederick / Winchester

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick / Winchester forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clarke

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Clarke forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Loudoun

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Loudoun forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Fairfax

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Fairfax forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rappahannock

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Rappahannock forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fauquier

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Fauquier forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather, Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Prince William / Manassas

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Prince William / Manassas forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Weather, Shenandoah

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Shenandoah forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Page

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Page forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Rockingham / Harrisonburg

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Rockingham / Harrisonburg forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Highland

When: January 20, 12:00 PM EST to January 21, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Highland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Virginia in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, January 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: 5229536, 5229537, 5229538, 5229539, 5229540, 5229541, 5229542, 5229543, 5229544, 5229545, 5229546, 5229547, 5229548, 5229549.