Winter Storm in North Carolina, January 3, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in North Carolina, January 3, 2002
Start: 2002-01-03T00:00
End: 2002-01-03T20:00
Location: North Carolina

January 3, 2002 · NWS RAH · 31 events in 31 counties and zones

The first winter storm of the season brought significant snowfall to central North Carolina. An initial round of snow began to fall during the evening of the 2nd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 31 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: 31

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 RAH wrote it up.

The first winter storm of the season brought significant snowfall to central North Carolina. An initial round of snow began to fall during the evening of the 2nd. The snow was heavy at times, and accumulated between 3 and 5 inches. The snow changed to sleet and light freezing rain in the Coastal Plain through the early morning hours of the 3rd. After a period of little or no precipitation on the morning of the 3rd, snow began to fall again across the entire area, and was heavy at times, adding an additional 4 to 8 inches. Storm total snowfall amounts were over a foot from the Sandhills northeast across the Piedmont to the Virginia border. The Northwest Piedmont, including the Triad area, received 6 to 10 inches. Snowfall amounts were lower in the Southern and Central Coastal Plain, between 4 and 8 inches, due to the snow mixing with sleet and freezing rain.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

31 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Alamance

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Alamance forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.044, -79.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Anson

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Anson forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.974, -80.103 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Chatham

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Chatham forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.703, -79.255 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cumberland

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.049, -78.827 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Davidson

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Davidson forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.793, -80.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Durham

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Durham forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.036, -78.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Edgecombe

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Edgecombe forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.913, -77.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Forsyth

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Forsyth forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.131, -80.256 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Franklin

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.083, -78.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Granville

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Granville forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.304, -78.653 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Guilford

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Guilford forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.080, -79.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Halifax

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Halifax forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.258, -77.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Harnett

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Harnett forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.369, -78.869 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hoke

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Hoke forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.017, -79.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnston

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Johnston forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.518, -78.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lee

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.475, -79.171 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.333, -79.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Moore

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Moore forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.311, -79.481 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nash

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Nash forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.967, -77.986 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Orange

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.061, -79.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Person

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Person forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.390, -78.972 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Randolph

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Randolph forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.710, -79.806 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Richmond

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Richmond forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.006, -79.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sampson

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Sampson forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.992, -78.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scotland

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Scotland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 34.841, -79.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stanly

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Stanly forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.312, -80.251 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Vance

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Vance forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.365, -78.408 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wake

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Wake forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.790, -78.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 36.397, -78.107 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wayne

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.364, -78.004 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wilson

When: January 3, 12:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Wilson forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.705, -77.919 (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 North Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5278198, 5278199, 5278200, 5278201, 5278202, 5278203, 5278204, 5278205, 5278206, 5278207, 5278331, 5278332, 5278333, 5278334, 5278335, 5278336, 5278337, 5278338, 5278339, 5278340, 5278341, 5278342, 5278343, 5278344, 5278345, 5278346, 5278347, 5278348, 5278349, 5278350, 5278351.