Heavy Snow in Maine, March 20 to 21, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Maine, March 20 to 21, 2002
Start: 2002-03-20T15:00
End: 2002-03-21T03:00
Location: Maine

March 20 to 21, 2002 · NWS GYX · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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: 17

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-northeast from the Ohio Valley on the morning of the 20th brought from 5 to 10 inches of snow across much of the state. The heaviest amounts fell in a wide band across the interior and foothills of western and central Maine where 8 to 10 inches of snow fell. Lesser amounts fell in the northern mountains and along the immediate coast where snowfall amounts were generally in the 5 to 7 inch range.

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 Mar 20, 2:22 PM EST, 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 2:22 PM EST, 38 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
222 PM EST WED MAR 20 2002

SOMEWHAT OF A STICKY WICKET FOR TNGT FCST.  PREV FCST LOOKS GOOD ON
TIMING BUT QUESTION IS AMOUNTS.  SOME INDICATIONS THAT SOME PLACES
OVER THE INTERIOR COULD BE FLIRTING WITH UPPER LIMITS OF ADVISORY
CRITERIA OR LOWER LIMITS OF WARNING CRITERIA.  AM LEANING TOWARD
ADVSY RIGHT NOW BUT WILL WAIT TO LAST SHOT TO MAKE FINAL DECISION.

PCPN SHOULD CUT OFF ARND MIDNIGHT AS LOW PASSES BY TNGT.  ARCTIC
FRONT COMES THRU THURSDAY EVENING ALG WITH SOME SNW SHWRS THEN
COLDER AIR TAKES OVER.

WILL CONTINUE THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WITH INCREASING SOUTHEAST
WINDS THIS EVENING.  MRP FORECASTING GALE FORCE WINDS AT MDRM1 AND
JUST BELOW GALE FORCE AT MISM1 AT 06Z TONIGHT.  WILL SPLIT THE CWF
IN HALF TONIGHT AND FORECAST A STRONG SCA...JUST BELOW A GLW...EAST
PORTION AND A MINIMAL SCA WEST PORTION.

WINDS WILL BACK TO THE NORTHEAST THEN NORTHWEST AND DIMINISH
OVERNIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING AS THE LOW PASSES OUT TO SEA...
STAYING WELL TO OUR SOUTH.  WINDS WILL BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST
THURSDAY AFTERNOON AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING ARTIC COLD FRONT.  THE
FRONT WILL MOVE OFFSHORE THURSDAY NIGHT WITH STRONG...POSSIBLY GALE
FORCE WINDS BEHIND IT WHICH WILL BE ENHANCED BY STRONG COLD AIR
ADVECTION.  THE MRP GUIDANCE SHOWS 35 KTS AT MISM1 12Z FRI.  WILL
HIGHLIGHT GALES MAY BE NEED LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY.  ALSO
THREAT OF SNOW OR MIXED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WITH THE FRONTAL
PASSAGE THURSDAY NIGHT.

A STRONG WEST FLOW LINES UP SURFACE TO 500 MB ON SATURDAY WITH COLD
AIR ADVECTION.  WILL MENTION GALE FORCE WINDS POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY
NIGHT IN THE CWF OUTLOOK...OTHERWISE EXPECT WINDS UNDER 35 KNOTS.

.GYX...
ME...WTR WX ADVIS LT THS AFTN INTO TNGT ALL ZONES.  SCA CST.
NH...WTR WX ADVIS LT THS AFTN INTO TNGT ALL ZONES.  SCA CST.

JFR

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Androscoggin

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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, Central Somerset

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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, Coastal Cumberland

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Coastal Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.806, -70.330 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coastal Waldo

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Coastal Waldo forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.485, -69.122 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coastal York

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Coastal York forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior Cumberland

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM 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, Interior Waldo

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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, Interior York

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Interior York forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Kennebec

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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, Knox

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.076, -69.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lincoln

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.998, -69.526 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Franklin

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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, Sagadahoc

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Sagadahoc forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.912, -69.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Franklin

When: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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: March 20, 3:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 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, March 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: 5285840, 5285841, 5285842, 5285843, 5285844, 5285845, 5285846, 5285847, 5285848, 5285849, 5285850, 5285851, 5285852, 5285853, 5285854, 5285855, 5285856.