Heavy Snow in Maine, January 15 to 16, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Maine, January 15 to 16, 2002
Start: 2002-01-15T19:00
End: 2002-01-16T07:00
Location: Maine

January 15 to 16, 2002 · NWS GYX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Low pressure moving through the Great Lakes and a second low moving northeast off the Mid-Atlantic coast brought a moderate snowfall to the mountains, foothills, and interior sections of central Maine where 4 to 6 inches of snow fell.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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.

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 15, 2:17 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 15, 2:17 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
217 PM EST TUE JAN 15 2002

ZONES: NW FLOW WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT WEEK WITH RELATIVELY WEAK
SYSTEMS PASSING THROUGH ABOUT EVERY 48 HOURS.  TODAYS LOW MOVING
ALONG THE NEW ENGLAND COAST WILL STRENGTH OVERNIGHT BUT TOO LATE TO
CAUSE MUCH IN THE WAY OF SNOW IN THE GYX FORECAST AREA.  EXPECTING
GREATEST ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT IN MTNS AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST
THROUGH AREA.  LESSER ACCUMULATIONS SOUTHWARD WITH AN INCH OR LESS
ALONG THE NH AND SW MAINE COAST AND 1 - 2 INCHES ALONG THE
MIDCOAST.  WINDS SHOULD KICK UP WEDNESDAY AS LOW STRENGTHENS AND
PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS.  WITH NW FLOW...MOUNTAINS SHOULD SEE
SNOW SHOWERS ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING BUT SNOW SHOWERS SHOULD
DIMINISH LATER IN THE DAY AS AIR DRIES OUT.  SOME SNOW SHOWERS WILL
SPILL INTO FOOTHILLS DURING MORNING HOURS.

WINDS SHOULD GRADUALLY DIMINISH LATE WEDNESDAY.  NEXT SYSTEM WILL
APPROACH AREA WEDNESDAY NIGHT.  WILL INCLUDE CHC OF SNOW TOWARD
MORNING WITH LIKELY POPS ALL AREAS FOR THURSDAY AS ALL MODELS RACING
NEXT SYSTEM EAST FROM THE GREAT LAKES.  ALL MODELS SIMILAR IN
KEEPING THIS A RELATIVELY LIGHT SNOW EVENT.

EXTENDED:  NW FLOW CONTINUES WITH SEASONABLE TEMPS.  SHORT WAVES
PASS THROUGH AREA SATURDAY AND MONDAY WHICH WILL BRING CHC OF SNOW
TO FORECAST AREA.  PARTLY CLOUDY DAYS EXPECTED FRIDAY...SUNDAY AND
TUESDAY...EXCEPT IN MTNS WHERE SW POSSIBLE IN NW FLOW.

MARINE: WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 KTS OVERNIGHT INTO WED WITH
SOME HIGHER GUSTS SO WILL CONTINUE SCA.  WINDS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH
LATE WED AS GRADIENT MOVES EAST.

.GYX...
ME...SCA.
NH...SCA.

JENSENIUS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Central Somerset

When: January 15, 7:00 PM EST to January 16, 7:00 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, Interior Waldo

When: January 15, 7:00 PM EST to January 16, 7:00 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: January 15, 7:00 PM EST to January 16, 7:00 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, Northern Franklin

When: January 15, 7:00 PM EST to January 16, 7:00 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, Southern Franklin

When: January 15, 7:00 PM EST to January 16, 7:00 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 Somerset

When: January 15, 7:00 PM EST to January 16, 7:00 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, 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: 5278562, 5278563, 5278564, 5278565, 5278566, 5278567.