Heavy Rain in New York, September 27, 2002

Name: Heavy Rain in New York, September 27, 2002
Start: 2002-09-27T10:00
End: 2002-09-27T23:00
Location: New York

September 27, 2002 · NWS BTV · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 BTV wrote it up.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Isidore moved northeast from the Ohio Valley on Friday, September 27th into New York state during the afternoon of the 27th and into Vermont Friday night, September 27th. Heavy rain accompanied this system with generally between 1 1/2 and 2 inches of rainfall reported. Amounts were locally higher in the mountains. Earlier in the month, September 14-15, the remnants of Tropical Storm Hannah resulted in rainfall of between 1/2 and 1 inch across northern New York. No flooding was reported with either event.

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 Burlington, VT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 27, 1:51 AM EST, 8 hours 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 27, 1:51 AM EST, 8 hours 9 minutes before

NYZ026>031-034-035-VTZ001>012-270651-

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
251 AM EDT FRI SEP 27 2002

...THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND EXACT LOCATION/TIMING IS
FORECAST CHALLENGES IN THIS PACKAGE...

WATER VAPOR CONTINUES TO SHOW MID/UPPER LVL SHORT WAVE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE REMNANTS OF ISIDORE MOVING FROM THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY INTO
THE MID ATLANTIC STATES. PLENTY OF TROPICAL MOISTURE STREAMING NORTH
AHEAD OF SYSTEM INTO NEW ENGLAND ATTM. ALL MODELS INITIALIZED WELL
AT 5H WITH THE REMNANTS OF ISIDORE. HOWEVER...BASED ON WATER VAPOR
TRENDS AND RAOB DATA FEEL AVN IS SLIGHTLY BETTER WITH 7H SHORT WAVE
ENERGY EJECTING FROM OHIO VALLEY INTO THE MID ATLANTIC STATES...ALONG
A SFC BOUNDARY. SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS 993MB LOW PRES ACRS WESTERN TN
WITH SFC BOUNDARY EXTENDING INTO THE SOUTHERN MID ATLANTIC STATES.
REGION RADAR MOSAIC SHOWS PRECIP ACRS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BACK
INTO THE OHIO VALLEY ASSOCIATED WITH SFC CONVERGENCE AND STRONG 850-
700MB LIFT ALONG FRNT...WHICH AVN QPF FIELDS ARE HANDLING WELL.

TODAY-TONIGHT...MID/UPPER LVL SHORT WAVE ENERGY CONTINUES TO EJECT
ALONG WESTERN PERIPHERY OF ATLANTIC RIDGE AS REMNANTS OF ISIDORE
QUICKLY APPROACHES. MODELS HAVE COME INTO MUCH BETTER AGREEMENT FROM
YESTERDAY WITH POSITION/MOVEMENT AND STRENGTH OF ULVL ENERGY AND
SFC LOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMNANTS OF ISIDORE. LOW PRES TRACKS FROM
OHIO VALLEY THIS MORNING ALONG SFC WARM FRNT ACRS SOUTHERN NY
AND ACCELERATES INTO SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND BY FRIDAY NITE. THIS TRACK
WOULD PLACE HEAVIEST PRECIP BAND ASSOCIATED WITH 850-700MB
DEFORMATION AND FRONTOGENESIS ACRS OUR CWA. ALSO...WITH PLENTY OF
SFC CONVERGENCE WITH FRNT AND STRONG ULVL DIVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH
CWA UNDER RRQ OF +120KT JET AT 250MB...WL ENHANCE LIFT ACRS FA.
THIS IS SHOWN NICELY IN BOTH THE AVN/ETA 850-700MB OMEGA FIELDS...
WHICH HAS BULLSEYE OF BEST LIFT CROSSING CWA BETWEEN 18Z TODAY
THRU 06Z TONIGHT. I WOULD EXPECT RAIN TO BECOME HEAVY THIS
AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. HOWEVER...
QUICK MOVEMENT OF SYSTEM SHOULD KEEP RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN ONE
AND THREE INCHES WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS ACRS THE ADIRONDACKS NEAR FOUR
INCHES. FEEL WITH UPSLOPE FLOW RAINFALL AMOUNTS WL BE ENHANCED BY THE
HIGHER TERRAIN. ACRS THE VERMONT ZONES RAINFALL AMOUNTS WL GENERALLY
BE 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS NEAR 3 INCHES. I FEEL FLOOD
WATCH IS NOT WARRANTED FOR VERMONT ZONES AS SYSTEM WL CONTINUE TO
ACCELERATE AND THE TIME PERIOD FOR HEAVY RAINFALL WL ONLY BE 6 TO 8
HRS. I WL CONTINUE WATCH FOR NY ZONES. ALSO...EXPECTED AMOUNTS WL BE
BELOW FFG ACRS VERMONT ZONES. I WL ISSUE ESF FOR VT ZONES TO
HIGHLIGHT POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL DURING RUSH HOUR AND THE
POSSIBILITY OF URBAN FLG. SYSTEM WL QUICKLY ACCELERATE WITH RAINFALL
ENDING BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AS DYNAMICS/LLVL FORCING SHIFTS INTO
EASTERN NEW ENGLAND. UPSTREAM TEMPS YESTERDAY WHERE CLOUDS AND RAINS
OCCURRED SUGGEST TEMPS NEAR 55F FOR SLK TO AROUND 60F CHAMPLAIN
VALLEY.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY...MID/UPPER LVL FLOW FLATTENS AS WEAK CAA CONTINUES
BEHIND DEPARTING AREA OF LOW PRES. SATURDAY...DRY AIR WL QUICKLY
ADVECT INTO REGION AND SKIES SHOULD BE PARTLY SUNNY. HOWEVER...
WOULD EXPECT WITH WEAK UPSLOPE FLOW AND LEFTOVER MOISTURE T CLOUDS WL
DEVELOP ACRS HIGHER TERRAIN. PROGGED 850MB TEMPS AND LLVL THICKNESS
VALUES SUGGEST HIGHS NEAR 55F SLK TO LOWER 60S CHAMPLAIN VALLEY.
SATURDAY NITE...SKIES WL BECOME CLR...COMBINED WITH LIGHT WINDS TEMPS
WL DROP INTO THE UPPER 20S SLK TO MID/UPPER 30S CHAMPLAIN VALLEY. I
WL MENTION PATCHY FROST/FOG IN COLDER/FOG PRONED AREAS. SUNDAY...
WEAK NW FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES WITH LITTLE WAA ACRS CWA. THEREFORE...WL
EXPECT ONLY SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPS.

MONDAY...MID/UPPER LVL RIDGE BUILDS AS STRONG WAA DEVELOPS ACRS CWA
ON SW SFC FLOW. 850MB TEMPS WARM TO NEAR 10C BY 00Z TUESDAY...WHICH
SUPPORTS TEMPS IN THE LOWER 70S. ALSO...WOULD EXPECT SOME MID/UPPER
LVL CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADVECTION...ESPECIALLY ACRS NORTHERN
CWA.

.BTV...FLOOD WATCH FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT NYZ026>031
       NYZ034-035.

TABER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Clinton

When: September 27, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Clinton County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.746, -73.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Essex

When: September 27, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Essex County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.117, -73.773 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Franklin

When: September 27, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Franklin County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.593, -74.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, St. Lawrence

When: September 27, 10:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: St. Lawrence County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.501, -75.116 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

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, September 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: 5320681, 5320682, 5320683, 5320684.