Winter Weather, Highland
- When
- March 4, 2:00 PM EST to March 5, 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Highland forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Winter Weather in Virginia, March 4 to 5, 2001
A Nor'easter formed off the coast of North Carolina and moved northward along the Atlantic seaboard on the 4th and 5th. This storm brought moisture onshore and resulted in two days of precipitation across the Mid Atlantic area.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 Nor'easter formed off the coast of North Carolina and moved northward along the Atlantic seaboard on the 4th and 5th. This storm brought moisture onshore and resulted in two days of precipitation across the Mid Atlantic area. Because temperatures were above freezing for most of the storm, a majority of the precipitation fell as rain from the Shenandoah Valley eastward. However, across the higher terrain of Highland County and Northern Shenandoah Valley, between 2 and 5 inches of snow was recorded. After the precipitation ended, northwest winds gusted up to 40 MPH during the afternoon and evening of the 5th.
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 Mar 4, 10:25 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 4, 10:25 AM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 1025 AM EST SUN MAR 4 2001 WILL BE UPDATING FORECAST BY 1045 AM. ISSUING WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MD COUNTIES FROM CARROLL WEST THROUGH ALLEGANY.. AND FOR PORTION OF WEST VIRGINIA PANHANDLE. MDOT WEATHER CAMS INDICATING THAT ELEVATIONS ABOVE 800 FT OR SO ARE SEEING ACCUMULATING SNOW OR A MIX OF SNOW SLEET AND RAIN.. AND CALLS FROM LOCAL OBSERVERS INDICATING AS MUCH AS 2 INCHES HAS ALREADY ACCUMULATED IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. BAND OF WARM ADVECTION PRECIP EXPECTED TO PASS ACROSS NRN AND WRN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON WITH QPF TOTALS AROUND .50 INCH. LOOKS LIKE LOWER ELEVATIONS MAY ESCAPE WITH JUST A MIX THIS AFTERNOON.. BUT HIGHER ELEVATIONS COULD SEE A SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION THROUGH THE DAY.. AND WILL WORD SO IN THE WSW AND ZONES. SOME REPORTS OF SLEET MIXED IN WITH THE RAIN OVER PORTIONS OF BALTIMORE AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY. WILL PROBABLY ADD A MENTION OF THIS IN FOR THE AFTERNOON FORECAST. HAVE MADE ONLY COSMETIC CHANGES TO TONIGHT PERIOD TO ACCOUNT FOR TRANSITION BETWEEN PERIODS.. WILL EVALUATE 12Z RUNS BEFORE DECIDING ON ANY MORE CHANGES. .LWX... DC...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONE DCZ001. MD...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT MDZ002>005. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES MDZ006>007...MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018. VA...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES VAZ021...VAZ025>031...VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057. WV...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT WVZ048>051-055. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUG|H MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES WVZ052>054. MARINE...SCA TIDAL POTOMAC AND MD PORTION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. MARGRAF!
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Weather, Frederick / Winchester
- When
- March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 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 Weather, Clarke
- When
- March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 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 Weather, Loudoun
- When
- March 5, 12:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Loudoun forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
What these are
- 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
- Storm Surge and High Wind in California, March 4, 2001
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 4 to 6, 2001
- High Wind in California, March 4 to 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 4 to 7, 2001
- Flooding in Texas, March 4 to 12, 2001
- Flood in Louisiana, March 4 to 26, 2001
- Tornado in Florida, March 4, 2001
- Flooding in Louisiana, March 4 to 12, 2001
- Tornado in Florida, March 4, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Florida, March 4, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Florida, March 4, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Florida, March 4, 2001
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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: 5239330, 5239327, 5239328, 5239329.