Heavy Snow in New York, March 10 to 11, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in New York, March 10 to 11, 2002
Start: 2002-03-10T10:00
End: 2002-03-11T03:00
Location: New York

March 10 to 11, 2002 · NWS BUF · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

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: $38,000
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 BUF wrote it up.

A strong cold front crossed the region during the evening hours of March 9th dropping temperatures thirty to forty degrees. The cold air produced lake effect snow bands off Lake Erie during the wee hours of the 10th. The bands started in the Buffalo area and extended to Rochester for a few hours around daybreak before settling south during the day. Amounts were generally six to eight inches but 30 to 40 mph winds on Sunday created hazardous conditions in blowing and drifting snow. Road closures were reported. East of Lake Ontario, the activity was slower getting organized. Generally, around four inches fell over Lewis and northern Oswego counties during Sunday afternoon but the activity consolidated and settled over Oswego county Sunday night. Six to ten inches fell over much of central southern Oswego 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 Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 10, 4:25 AM EST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 4:25 AM EST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 10, 9:17 AM EST, 43 minutes before

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Local storm report, Mar 10, 10:00 AM EST, 0 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Erie

When: March 10, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Erie forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.758, -78.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wyoming

When: March 10, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Wyoming forecast zone
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.702, -78.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cattaraugus

When: March 10, 1:00 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, Chautauqua

When: March 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Chautauqua forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.303, -79.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Oswego

When: March 11, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Oswego forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
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, 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5285359, 5285360, 5285361, 5285362, 5285363.