Delaware, 2002

Heavy Snow in Delaware, January 3, 2002

January 3, 2002 · NWS PHI · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Sussex County was on the northern edge of the precipitation shield of a snowstorm that affected most of the southern Middle Atlantic States. Snow began falling before dawn on the 3rd and continued into the early afternoon.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 PHI wrote it up.

Sussex County was on the northern edge of the precipitation shield of a snowstorm that affected most of the southern Middle Atlantic States. Snow began falling before dawn on the 3rd and continued into the early afternoon. Accumulations ranged from just a trace in the northern parts to around 4 inches in the southern parts of the county. Specific accumulations included 4 inches in Gumboro and Selbyville, 3.5 inches in Harbeson, 1.5 inches in Georgetown, 1.0 inch in Lewes and a trace in Ellendale. The low pressure system responsible for the snow developed in the Gulf of Mexico the night of the 1st. It moved across central Florida during the daylight hours on the 2nd and passed well east of Cape Hatteras on the 3rd. The system's storm track was too far to the southeast to bring heavy snow into the middle and upper Delmarva Peninsula.

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 2:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 2:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
240 AM EST THU JAN 3 2002

AT 200 AM THE SNOW WAS UP AS FAR AS RICHMOND AND WALLOPS ISLAND IN
VIRGINIA.  FOR OUR AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY IT CONTINUES TO APPEARS AS
THOUGH THIS WILL BE MAINLY A SNOW EVENT FOR SUSSEX COUNTY IN
DELAWARE (MAINLY THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE COUNTY).
SOME LIGHT SNOW AND FLURRIES MAY SPREAD UP INTO NORTHEASTERN
MARYLAND...NORTHERN DELAWARE AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY...WITH LITTLE
OR NO ACCUMULATION IN THOSE AREAS.

FOR SUSSEX COUNTY...DELAWARE WE/LL ISSUE AND ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR
THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW...AGAIN MAINLY IN THE
SOUTHERN AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE COUNTY.  THE LIQUID PRECIP AMOUNT
FORECAST BY THE ETA FOR FENWICK ISLAND IS ABOUT 0.17 INCHES.  THE
AVN IS MUCH MORE ROBUST WITH A TOTAL OF ABOUT 0.51 INCHES FOR
TODAY.  IN BOTH CASES THERE IS A SHARP DROP IN PRECIP AMOUNTS AS ONE
HEADS TO THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST.

EVEN IF THE AVN VERIFIES AND FENWICK ISLAND RECEIVES TWO OR THREE
INCHES OF WET SNOW...MOST OF SUSSEX COUNTY SHOULD BE IN THE INCH OR
LESS RANGE.  AS A RESULT...AS FORECAST OF AN INCH OR TWO SHOULD
SERVE MOST OF THE RESIDENTS OF SUSSEX COUNTY WELL.

THE UPPER TROUGH IS FORECAST TO PUSH THE ENTIRE SYSTEM OFF THE COAST
FOR THIS EVENING...BRINGING CLEARING FOR TONIGHT.

A RATHER TRANQUIL PERIOD SHOULD SET IN FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

THE LATEST RUN OF THE AVN PUSHES SUNDAY/S SYSTEM FARTHER OUT TO SEA
WHICH COULD TRANSLATE INTO LESS PRECIP BUT MORE IN THE WAY OF COLD
AIR.  TIME WILL TELL.

THE ZONE FORECASTS WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 400.

.PHI...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK ISLAND DE
        AND FOR DELAWARE BAY.

IOVINO

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Delaware Beaches

When
January 3, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware Beaches forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Inland Sussex

When
January 3, 4:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Inland Sussex forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.683, -75.339 (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

More

Every storm in Delaware in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, January 2002

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: 5277491, 5277492.