Winter Storm in Mississippi, January 1 to 2, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Mississippi, January 1 to 2, 2002
Start: 2002-01-01T22:00
End: 2002-01-02T06:00
Location: Mississippi

January 1 to 2, 2002 · NWS MOB · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A band of snow and sleet fell across the area Tuesday evening and into early Wednesday morning. Most of the area from Beaumont to Waynesboro and Leakesville received one to three inches of snow.

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 MOB wrote it up.

A band of snow and sleet fell across the area Tuesday evening and into early Wednesday morning. Most of the area from Beaumont to Waynesboro and Leakesville received one to three inches of snow. To the south of this area generally from Wiggins to east of Lucedale one-quarter inch of sleet and freezing rain fell with only a dusting of snow covering some rooftops. Still, traveling became hazardous across the area. Fortunately the schools were out for the holidays so the winter precipitation was mostly just an inconvenience. Some of the heavier amounts of snow were north of U. S. Highway 98 in Perry county 2 to 3 inches with areas south of U. S. Highway 98 getting 1 to 2 inches. The Leakesville area received 1 to 2 inches of snow with most of Wayne county getting 1 to 2 inches. Although several secondary roads and bridges had to be closed and sanded, very little property damage was reported.

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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 1, 9:40 PM CST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 9:40 PM CST, 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
940 PM CST TUE JAN 01 2002

LATEST REPORTS FROM AREA SPOTTERS INDICATE A GOOD MIX OF SLEET AND
RAIN MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM NEAR MOBILE...EASTWARD
ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN FLORIDA
PANHANDLE COUNTIES.  REPORTS INDICATE THIS CHANGES TO MAINLY SNOW
FROM NEAR AUGUSTA AND LEAKESVILLE MISSISSIPPI INTO WASHINGTON AND
POSSIBLY PORTIONS OF CLARKE COUNTY IN SW ALABAMA.  THIS IS WHERE THE
COLDEST TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS ARE CURRENTLY SEEN AT THIS TIME.  EXPECT
THIS TRANSITION FROM RAIN/SLEET TO MAINLY SNOW TO CONTINUE WORKING
ITS WAY EASTWARD AND SLIGHTLY SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL MOBILE AND
BALDWIN COUNTIES AND ACROSS MUCH OF ESCAMBIA...MONROE...CLARKE...
COVINGTON...BUTLER AND CRENSHAW COUNTIES OF SW ALABAMA OVERNIGHT.
COULD ALSO SEE SOME SNOW OVER NORTHERN ESCAMBIA...SANTA ROSA AND
OKALOOSA COUNTIES OF NW FLORIDA AFTER MIDNIGHT...BUT THIS AREA IS A
BIT TRICKIER.  THE DEEPENING LOW IN THE CNTRL GULF IS HELPING TO
ADVECT WARMER DEWPOINTS NORTHWARD AND LATEST OBSERVATIONS SHOW
WARMING DEWPOINTS WORKING UP FROM PANAMA CITY AREA.  IF THIS
CONTINUES TO PUSH INTO EXTREME NW FLORIDA...THEN TEMPS WILL NOT
SUPPORT SNOW...MAINLY JUST RAIN/SLEET MIXED AND THIS IS COVERED INT
THE FORECAST.

THEREFORE...IT APPEARS THE FORECAST IS MAINLY ON TRACK WITH SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT MAINLY ACROSS THE
HEART OF SE MISSISSIPPI AND SW ALABAMA WHERE THE WINTER WARNING IS
FOCUSED.  WILL UPDATE ZONES SHORTLY TO MAINLY TWEAK WORDING A
BIT...BUT BY LARGE NO MAJOR CHANGES ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
39

.MOB...
AL...WINTER STORM WARNING ALZ051>064 TNGT THRU WED EVENING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVSY GMZ630-650-670 TONIGHT.
GALE WARNING GMZ670 WED.
FL...WINTER STORM WARNING FLZ001-003-005 TNGT THRU WED EVENING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVSY GMZ655-675 TONIGHT.
MS...WINTER STORM WARNING MSZ067-075-076-078-079 TNGT THRU WED
EVENING.

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, George

When: January 1, 10:00 PM CST to January 2, 5:00 AM CST
Where: George forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 30.863, -88.644 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Greene

When: January 1, 10:00 PM CST to January 2, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Greene forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.214, -88.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Perry

When: January 1, 10:00 PM CST to January 2, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Perry forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.172, -88.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stone

When: January 1, 10:00 PM CST to January 2, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Stone forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 30.790, -89.118 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wayne

When: January 1, 10:00 PM CST to January 2, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.641, -88.696 (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 Mississippi in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Mississippi, 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: 5276849, 5276850, 5276851, 5276852, 5276853.