Heavy Snow in Maine, April 28 to 29, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Maine, April 28 to 29, 2002
Start: 2002-04-28T10:00
End: 2002-04-29T10:00
Location: Maine

April 28 to 29, 2002 · NWS GYX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

An area of low pressure moving east from the Great Lakes brought a late-season snowfall to much of the state. The greatest amounts fell in the western mountains where up to 9 inches was reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 9

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 GYX wrote it up.

An area of low pressure moving east from the Great Lakes brought a late-season snowfall to much of the state. The greatest amounts fell in the western mountains where up to 9 inches was reported. Snow amounts in the foothills and central interior were generally in the 2 to 6 inch range with lesser amounts to the south. Along the coast, the precipitation fell mainly as rain.

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 Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 28, 8:33 AM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 28, 8:33 AM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
933 AM EDT SUN APR 28 2002

DISC...DO NOT XPCT CHANGES TO THE WRNG/ADVIS SITN THS MRNG AS PCPN
YET TO START MST ZNS...BUT WL UPDATE W/ MINOR MODIFICATIONS TO KP
THE PKG CRNT.  FLRYS HV MOVD INTO THE GYX VCNTY THS HR...BUT MAIN
BATCH OF PCPN STILL IS SITUATED MAINLY FM THE CT RVR VLY & PTS S AND
W AS PER LATEST 88D COMPOSITE.  LEADING EDGE OF PCPN CONTS TO ERODE
AS IS APCHS DRY AIR OVR ME/MUCH OF NH.  TDS ARE QUITE LOW ACRS THE
FA...W/ SOME DRY AIR AVBL IN 12Z GYX SNDG FOR EVAP COOLING.
THEREFORE...STILL XPCT AT LEAST A PD OF SN...EVEN SRN ZNS...EARLY.
CRNT FCST ON TRACK.

WNDS ALREADY SWITCHING TO THE NE IN RESPONSE TO DVLPG CSTL LOW.
CRNT SFC WNDS HV SHFT TO A NRLY COMPONENT AS FAR S AS NRN NJ & ERN
PA.

ONE BIG QUES IS TIDES TNGT.  WL LV MINOR CSTL FLOODING IN ZNS FOR
NOW...BUT WL WATCH THS CLOSELY DURG THE AFTN.  ASTRONOMICAL TIDES
TNGT AT PWM WL BE 11.5 FT.  MDLS INDICATE PSBL LULL IN WND FIELD
ARND THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE...BUT A SHFT IN ONSHORE COMPONENT BY A
FEW HRS CUD MAKE QUITE A BIT OF DIFFERENCE.  PLACED PWM IN STM SURGE
MODE AT 1245Z.

FCSTID = 13

.GYX...
ME...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT ZONES 7>9/13/14.
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT ZONES
     12/20>22.
  ...GLW.
NH...WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ZONE 1.
  ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH TONIGHT ZONES
     2>4.
  ...GLW.

JC

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Central Somerset

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Central Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Franklin

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Oxford

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Androscoggin

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Androscoggin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.166, -70.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior Waldo

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kennebec

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Franklin

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Oxford

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Oxford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.500, -70.757 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Somerset

When: April 28, 10:00 AM EST to April 29, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (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

Every storm in Maine in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, April 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: 5293296, 5293297, 5293298, 5293299, 5293300, 5293301, 5293302, 5293303, 5293304.