Winter Storm in Maine, January 6 to 7, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Maine, January 6 to 7, 2002
Start: 2002-01-06T22:00
End: 2002-01-07T08:00
Location: Maine

January 6 to 7, 2002 · NWS CAR · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Low pressure lifting northward along the coast brought 5 to 8 inches of snow to the region.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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 CAR wrote it up.

Low pressure lifting northward along the coast brought 5 to 8 inches of snow to the region.

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 Caribou, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 6, 3:15 PM EST, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 3:15 PM EST, 6 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
315 PM EST SUN JAN 6 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
LOW PRESSURE ACROSS THE MID ATLANTIC REGION WILL TRACK NORTHEAST TONIGHT
AND THEN TO NEAR WESTERN NOVA SCOTIA BY MONDAY MORNING. THIS LOW WILL THEN
CONTINUE TO TRACK NORTHEAST THROUGH THE CANADIAN MARITIMES MONDAY NIGHT. A
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL START TO BUILD INTO THE REGION ON TUESDAY.

.DISCUSSION...
ALREADY UPGRADED TO WINTER STORM WARNINGS WITH EARLIER UPDATE FOR THE
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND ALL OF INTERIOR/COASTAL DOWNEAST MAINE. WILL ALSO
ISSUE AN ADVISORY FOR ZONES 2-4-5-6-10. WE WILL USE A BLEND OF THE UKMET/AVN
MODEL SOLUTIONS FOR THE SHORT TERM WHICH TRACK THE LOW FROM THE MID ATLANTIC
STATES THIS EVENING AND THEN TO NEAR THE WESTERN TIP OF NOVA SCOTIA BY EARLY
MONDAY MORNING. THUS EXPECTING SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ACROSS
THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND INTERIOR DOWNEAST ZONES WITH 4 TO 8 INCHES ALONG
THE IMMEDIATE COAST WHERE PRECIPITATION WILL BE A MIX INITIALLY. FURTHER
NORTH EXPECT 3 TO 5 INCHES ACROSS ZONES 2-4>6 AND 10 AND WILL ISSUE A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY THESE ZONES.

THE LOW WILL PULL NORTHEAST OF NOVA SCOTIA DURING MONDAY SO EXPECT THE
STEADY SNOW TO TAPER TO SNOW SHOWERS EARLY MONDAY. THERE COULD BE SOME
LINGERING -SN/-SHSN INTO MONDAY EVENING ACROSS DOWNEAST AREAS AS SECONDARY
LOW DEVELOPS AND PASSES WELL SOUTH OF THE COAST. BUT EXPECT SKIES TO BECOME
PARTLY CLOUDY ALL AREAS LATER MONDAY NIGHT. WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD
ACROSS THE REGION ON TUESDAY WITH DRY WEATHER.

A SERIES OF FAST MOVING WEAK DISTURBANCES BE MOVING ACROSS THE REGION FOR
MUCH OF THE MID PART OF THE UPCOMING WEEK WHICH WILL KEEP A THREAT OF
SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE REGION.

COASTAL WATERS...
WILL CONTINUE WITH A GALE WARNING.

.CAR...GALE WARNING
       WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT INTO MONDAY FOR ZONES
       11/15>17/29/30>32.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW ZONES 2-4>6-10.

TD/JAH/RN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Central Penobscot

When: January 6, 10:00 PM EST to January 7, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Central Penobscot forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.401, -68.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Central Piscataquis

When: January 6, 10:00 PM EST to January 7, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Central Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Interior Hancock

When: January 6, 10:00 PM EST to January 7, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Interior Hancock forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.563, -68.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southeast Aroostook

When: January 6, 10:00 PM EST to January 7, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Aroostook forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.659, -68.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Piscataquis

When: January 6, 10:00 PM EST to January 7, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Piscataquis forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.837, -69.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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: 5278130, 5278131, 5278132, 5278133, 5278134.