Heavy Snow in New York, February 4, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in New York, February 4, 2002
Start: 2002-02-04T16:00
End: 2002-02-04T20:00
Location: New York

February 4, 2002 · NWS BUF · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

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: $44,000
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 BUF wrote it up.

Low pressure moving through central New York merged with an intensifying storm moving up the Atlantic coast. Heavy snow fell across parts of the western southern tier and Finger Lakes, especially the higher elevations. Strong northwest winds gusts above 35 mph and resulted in reduced visibilities from blowing and drifting snow. Specific amounts included: 10" at East Aurora, Arkwright, and Perrysburg; 8.5" at Perinton; 8" at Paymyra; and 7.5" at Minetto.

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 Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 4, 3:07 PM EST, 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 3:07 PM EST, 53 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
307 PM EST MON FEB 4 2002

AS ONE COLD LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OFF TO THE EAST AWAY FROM THE
REGION...A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FROM THE WEST
TONIGHT. THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY A FAST MOVING SHORT WAVE
AND FILLING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ACROSS WESTERN QUEBEC. THIS WILL
TIGHTEN THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE REGION WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS
SHIFTING TO WEST AND INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH. THERE WILL BE A LOW
LEVEL JET DEVELOPING AROUND 5KFT AND INCREASING INSTABILITY ALONG THE
WEAK COLD FRONT TRAILING THE LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL ALLOW THE WINDS
TO MIX DOWN WITH GUSTS AROUND 40 MPH.

TEMPS ALOFT WILL STILL BE COLD ENOUGH (IN THE -14 TO -18 DEG C AT H8)
TO PRODUCE LAKE EFFECT SNOW EAST OF BOTH LAKES TUESDAY INTO EARLY
TUESDAY EVENING. WIND DRIVEN SNOW WILL DEVELOP NEAR WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS ALONG THE NYS THRUWAY EAST OF LAKE ERIE AND ALONG
INTERSTATE 81 BETWEEN SYRACUSE AND WATERTOWN. THE GREATEST SNOWS
SHOULD BE EAST OF LAKE ONTARIO WITH A FULL LAKE FETCH AND DRIECT
IMPINGEMENT ON THE TUG HILL PLATEAU. SURFACE WINDS ALONG LAKE ERIE
MAY BACK MORE TO THE SOUTHWEST TUESDAY MORNING AND SNOWS WILL BE
SOUTH OF METRO BUFFAL BUT INTO ERIE AND WYOMING COUNTIES...MAYBE AS
FAR EAST AS LIVINGSTON COUNTY. LAKE ERIE WINDS BECOME ALIGNED
WESTERLY TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHICH WILL TAKE THE SNOW ALONG CATTARAUGUS
CREEK AND A COUPLE MILES EITHER SIDE. ALTHOUGH SOME PREFERRED
LOCATIONS WILL GET A MORE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SNOW...THE GUSTY WIND
OVER A WIDE AREA WILL HAVE THE GREATEST EFFECT WITH BLOWING/DRIFTING
SNOW AND LOCAL WHITEOUTS. WILL GO WITH A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AREAS
EAST OF LAKES ERIE AND ONTARIO.

LATER PERIODS SHOW THE NEXT LIKELIHOOD OF SNOW WILL BE THIS WEEKEND
WITH A GOOD CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS ON THURSDAY. BROAD TROUGH OVER THE
NORTHEAST WILL BECOME MORE ZONAL WITH A FEW FAST MOVING RIPPLES...BUT
NOTHING LOOKING SUBSTANTIAL AT THIS TIME. GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOKED
GOOD...FWC/MAV/FAN ALL WITHIN A COUPLE DEGREES ON HIGHS AND LOWS.

.BUF...GALE WARNING LAKE ONTARIO FOR TUESDAY
       WINTER STORM WATCH TUES/TUES EVNG NYZ005>008-010-012-019>021.

HIBBERT

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, Erie

When: February 4, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chautauqua

When: February 4, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Chautauqua forecast zone
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cattaraugus

When: February 4, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Cattaraugus forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.249, -78.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When: February 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.165, -77.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wayne

When: February 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.066, -76.978 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Oswego

When: February 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Oswego forecast zone
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.464, -76.209 (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 New York in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, February 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: 5283326, 5283327, 5283328, 5283329, 5283330, 5283331.