Winter Storm in New York, January 31, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in New York, January 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-31T01:00
End: 2002-01-31T23:59
Location: New York

January 31, 2002 · NWS BGM · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

A strong intensifying storm in the lower Mississippi Valley moved slowly northeast to be in New York late on February 1st. The storm pumped abundant moisture north ahead of it.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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: 18

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 BGM wrote it up.

A strong intensifying storm in the lower Mississippi Valley moved slowly northeast to be in New York late on February 1st. The storm pumped abundant moisture north ahead of it. The precipitation started as snow then changed over to sleet then freezing rain then finally rain. Changes happened from west to east. Across Oneida and Madison Counties 3 to 6 inches of snow and sleet fell before changing over freezing rain. Most other locations had two inches or less. By 10 AM most locations except the Mohawk Valley had changed over to freezing rain. Steady freezing rain, at times moderate, fell during the daytime. By evening the Catskills through the Mohawk Valley still had freezing rain but it had lessened in intensity. Across most of the remaining area it was just rain. The freezing rain lessened in coverage and intensity overnight before finally ending late morning on the first. Ice accumulations up to half an inch. Total water equivalents were over one inch from the Finger Lakes east to the western Mohawk Valley and northern sections of the Susquehanna 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 Binghamton, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 8:35 PM EST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 8:35 PM EST, 4 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
835 PM EST WED JAN 30 2002

PRECIP ON LOCAL RADARS HAS PRETTY MUCH DISSIPATED WITH WEAK CAA
ACROSS ENTIRE FA. SIGNIFICANT PRECIP OVR ILL/IND ASSOCIATED WITH
STRONG MID LVL ISENTROPIC LIFT. BOTH THE RUC AND 18Z ETA VERIFYING
FAIRLY WELL WITH CURRENT CONDITIONS AND INDICATE PRECIP ASSOCIATED
WITH GOOD MID LVL WAA FORCING WONT REACH FA UNTIL WELL AFTER
MIDNIGHT. WILL DELAY TIMING OF PRECIP IN ZONES BUT LEAVE HEADLINES
ALONE. TEMP FORECAST ON TRACK AND MAY ONLY MAKE SLIGHT
ADJUSTMENTS.

.BGM...WINTER STORM WARNING THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE
NORTHERN FINGER LAKES REGION, WESTERN MOHAWK VALLEY AND SOUTHERN TUG
HILL PLATEAU. WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR THE
REST OF COUNTY WARNING AREA.

RRM

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Broome

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Broome forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.160, -75.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Chemung

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Chemung forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.141, -76.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Chenango

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Chenango forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.494, -75.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cortland

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cortland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.595, -76.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Delaware

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.198, -74.966 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Madison

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.913, -75.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Oneida

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Oneida forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Onondaga

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Onondaga forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.006, -76.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Otsego

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Otsego forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.634, -75.033 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Schuyler

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Schuyler forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.394, -76.875 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Seneca

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Seneca forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.781, -76.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Cayuga

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Cayuga forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Oneida

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Oneida forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Steuben

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Steuben forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.268, -77.384 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sullivan

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Sullivan forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.716, -74.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tioga

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Tioga forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.170, -76.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tompkins

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Tompkins forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.452, -76.474 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Yates

When: January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Yates forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.633, -77.105 (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: 5279856, 5279857, 5279858, 5279859, 5279860, 5279861, 5279862, 5279863, 5279864, 5279865, 5279866, 5279867, 5279868, 5279869, 5279870, 5279871, 5279872, 5279873.