Winter Storm in New York, January 31, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in New York, January 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-31T12:00
End: 2002-01-31T23:59
Location: New York

January 31, 2002 · NWS ALY · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 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: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 16

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 ALY wrote it up.

An area of low pressure, in the Ohio Valley, developed along a strong stationary boundary on January 31. The storm then tracked northeast through the Saint Lawrence Valley by the end of the day and month. With cold shallow air in place over New York State, and warm moist air being forced over the cold dome, the stage was set for a potpourri of wintry precipitation. Snow and sleet develped across eastern New York during the morning hours of the 31st. The combination of snow and sleet, followed by freezing rain, produced over half an inch of water equivalent from the Capital District northward, resulting in very slick roadways and travel disruptions as well as business and school closures. A swath of 3 to 7 inches of snow and sleet accumulated north of the Capital District and Mohawk Valley, followed by up to three quarters of an inch of ice accretion. Further south, in the immediate Capital District and Mohawk Valley, only 1-3 inches of snow and sleet fell, followed by a lighter coating of ice. However, even what seemed a minor accumulation wrought havoc as it was difficult to remove. The weight of the snow and ice managed to damage the roof of The Up to Par Golf and Sports Dome, located off Route 5, in the town of Schuyler, Herkimer County.

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 Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 11:04 AM EST, 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 11:04 AM EST, 56 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
1100 AM EST THUD JAN 31 2002

.DISC...WL UPDATE ZONES TO DECREASE SNOW AMOUNTS IN ALL ZONES.
PCPN NOT AS HEAVY AS EXPECTED THIS MRNG...WHEN MOST OF THE SNOW
ACCUMULATION WAS EXPECTED TO OCCUR.  PCPN ALSO EXPECTED TO BE
LIGHTER THAN EARLIER THOUGH ACRS THE EXTREME SRN TIER OF
COUNTIES...SO WL REDUCE THE WINTER STORM WRNG THERE TO A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY.

.ALY...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THIS AFTN AND TNGT FOR ULSTER...
       DUTCHESS AND LITCHFIELD COUNTIES.

       WINTER STORM WARNINGS THIS AFTN AND TNGT ALL OTHER COUNTIES.

MAGLARAS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 31, 6:54 AM EST, 5 hours 6 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Jan 31, 11:34 AM EST, 26 minutes before

NEW YORK STATEWIDE POLICE INFORMATION NETWORK
TROOP K
1133AM     THU JAN 31 2002
#2 0710712 071
KCSO WLSR KCLA KCEC
00324    FILE 28   COLUMBIA CO SO NY0100000                  JAN 31-02
TO       A T T N  / SP CLAV 911 CENTER

REF TO TEL/TYPE MSG. 00322 - COLUMBIA COUNTY RTE 19 FROM COLUMBIA COUNTY RTE 8
TO WHITE OAK RD IN THE TWN OF  LIVINGSTON IS NOW OPEN

AUTH DEP EC PORRECA
OPER - PORRECA,EDWARD C               1136

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Eastern Albany

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Albany forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eastern Rensselaer

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Rensselaer forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eastern Schenectady

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Schenectady forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fulton

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.114, -74.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.661, -74.497 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.902, -74.440 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Herkimer

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Herkimer forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Saratoga

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Saratoga forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Schoharie

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Schoharie forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.588, -74.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Herkimer

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Herkimer forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.420, -74.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Saratoga

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Saratoga forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.561, -73.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.314, -73.431 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Albany

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Albany forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Rensselaer

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Rensselaer forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Schenectady

When: January 31, 12:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Schenectady forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.818, -74.059 (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 New York in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, 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: 5279676, 5279727, 5279728, 5279729, 5279730, 5279731, 5279732, 5279733, 5279734, 5279735, 5279736, 5279737, 5279738, 5279739, 5279740, 5279741.