Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Maine, January 13, 2002

Name: Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Maine, January 13, 2002
Start: 2002-01-13T07:00
End: 2002-01-13T19:00
Location: Maine

January 13, 2002 · NWS GYX · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 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: 16

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.

Low pressure moving through southeastern Canada and a developing low off the New England coast brought a mixture of precipitation to the state. In the mountains, western foothills, and parts of the interior, from 4 to 8 inches of snow fell. Along the coast, rain changed to wet snow during the day as winds increased. The combined effects of the heavy, wet snow and wind reduced visibilities, caused many accidents, and downed numerous branches and trees in the midcoast area. The branches and trees fell on power lines and caused widespread power outages. About 60,000 homes and businesses lost electrical service during the storm. Due to the extensive damage from the storm, some homes were without power for up to 5 days.

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 Jan 13, 3:00 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 13, 3:00 AM EST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
300 AM EST SUN JAN 13 2002

SLIGHT DIFFERENCES IN TRACK OF RPDLY DEEPENING SFC LOW WITH ETA
CLOSER THAN AVN.  REGUARDLESS OF TRACK EXPLOSIVE DEEPENING AND
DYNAMICS SHLD RESULT IN ENOUGH QPF OVER THE ENTIRE FA TO WARRANT
WARNINGS.  BIG PROBLEM IS PTYPE OVR SRN AND CNTRL ME AND SE NH.
MDLS CONT TO SHOW +1-3C AIR FIRST 2-3K FT.  FEEL THIS IS A BIT
OVERDONE AND THAT THE HEAVY PCPN WILL WIPE THAT WARM LYR OUT RATHER
QUICKLY HOWEVER CONFIDENCE ON TIMING OF THAT IS LOW.  WITH MDLS
CRANKING OUT AS MUCH AS .60 PER HOUR JUST AN HOUR OR TWO DIFFERENCE
IN CHANGEOVER WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN SNOW AMOUNT.  SNW WILL
WIND DOWN MOST SXNS BY EVENING.

LOW MOVES RAPIDLY NE TONIGHT.  VERY STRONG WIND ON BACKSIDE SHLD
RESULT IN MUCH BLOWING AND DRIFTING.  SNO WILL BE PRETTY MUCH OVER
EXCP FOR LINGERING SNSH MTNS AND FOOTHILLS AND PSBLY SOME VERY EARLY
EVE SNW OVR SE PTNS OF FA.

SFC GRADIENT DECREASES RPDLY MON WITH VRY DRY AIR ACROSS ENTR FA BY
AFTN.

WK SYSTEM HEADED THIS WAY FOR TUE SHLD BRING SOME LIGHT SNOW.

FCSTID = 3

.GYX...
ME...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES MEZ007>009...
MEZ012>014.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES MEZ018>028.

NH...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES NHZ001>002...NHZ004.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SUNDAY FOR ZONES NHZ003...NHZ005>010...
NHZ013>014.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow, 8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Androscoggin

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM 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, Central Somerset

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM 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, Interior Cumberland

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Interior Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Franklin

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM 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: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM 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, Southern Franklin

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM 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: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM 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)

Winter Storm, Coastal Cumberland

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Coastal Waldo

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Interior Waldo

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Interior Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kennebec

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Kennebec forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 44.409, -69.767 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Knox

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sagadahoc

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Somerset

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: UTILITY COMPANY
Coordinates: 45.514, -69.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior York

When: January 13, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Interior York forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (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.
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 Maine in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, 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: 5278535, 5278536, 5278537, 5278538, 5278539, 5278540, 5278541, 5278542, 5278543, 5278544, 5278545, 5278546, 5278547, 5278548, 5278549, 5278550.