Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 19 to 20, 2002

Name: Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 19 to 20, 2002
Start: 2002-01-19T09:00
End: 2002-01-20T01:00
Location: Pennsylvania

January 19 to 20, 2002 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 10

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 PHI wrote it up.

A weak low pressure system that moved through the Gulf Coast States and exited quickly off the North Carolina coast had sufficient moisture and came close enough to eastern Pennsylvania to give the region some heavy snow. Freezing rain and sleet mixed with the snow in and around Philadelphia. Accumulations ranged from 3 to 6 inches in most areas. Snow spread across the region by noon EST on the 19th and fell at a fairly steady rate throughout this event. Precipitation mixed with and changed over to sleet and freezing rain in and around Philadelphia between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST. Bridges, overpasses and untreated roadways became very treacherous. Specific accumulations included 6.0 inches in Thorndale (Chester County) and Macungie (Lehigh County), 5.7 inches in Saylorsburg (Monroe County), 5.5 inches in Southampton (Bucks County) and Palm (Montgomery County), 5.2 inches in Ambler (Montgomery County), 5.1 inches in Springtown (Bucks County), 5.0 inches in Albrightsville (Carbon County), Chadds Ford (Delaware County), Boyertown (Berks County) and Analomink (Monroe County), 4.8 inches in Bensalem (Bucks County) and Glenmoore (Chester County), 4.7 inches in Reading (Berks County), 4.6 inches in Williams Township (Northampton County), 4.5 inches in Newtown Square (Delaware County), Forks (Northampton County) and Pottstown (Montgomery County), 4.0 inches at the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia International Airports, in Bechtelsville (Berks County), Fricks (Bucks County), Lehighton (Carbon County) and Pocono Summit (Monroe County), Somerton (Philadelphia County), 3.9 inches in Exton (Chester County) and 3.0 inches in East Stroudsburg (Monroe County) and Honey Brook (Chester County). The low pressure system responsible for the wintry mix developed in the Gulf Coast States during the evening of the 18th. By the morning of the 19th, it was located in northern Mississippi. At 11a.m. EST the primary low moved into Tennessee as a secondary formed near Wilmington, North Carolina. At 5 p.m. EST it moved to just east of Elizabeth City, North Carolina and then accelerated to a position south of Cape Cod at midnight EST on the 20th.

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 19, 4:45 AM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 4:45 AM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
445 AM EST SAT JAN 19 2002

CURRENT FORECAST CONTINUES WITH ONLY MINOR CHANGES.

00Z ETA/AVN/NOGAPS/CANADIAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SURFACE LOW
DEVELOPMENT AND STRONG WAA PATTERN OVER THE MID-ATLANTIC.  MODEL
TRENDS OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS HAVE SUPPRESSED THE SURFACE LOW TRACK
AND PRECIPITATION EVER SO SLIGHTLY SOUTHWARD. HOWEVER...EXAMINATION
OF CURRENT SURFACE OBSERVATIONS OF SNOWFALL BREAKING OUT TO THE WEST
SHOWS HEAVIER SNOW EXTENDING A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH THAN FORECAST BY
EITHER ETA/AVN.  06Z MESOETA SHOWS 2NDRY PRECIPITATION MAXIMA OVER
CENTRAL NJ/SOUTHEAST PA DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE SNOW EVENT.  00Z
AVN SHOWED 200 KT JET MAXIMA FOR 00Z THIS EVENING OVER THE NORTHEAST
U.S....WITH OUR FORECAST AREA WELL POSITIONED BENEATH THE ENTRANCE
REGION TO THE JET.  EXPECT GREATER THAN 10:1 SNOW/LIQUID RATIO IN
THE NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA TO ACHIEVE EXPECTED SNOW
AMOUNTS.  GIVEN LATEST MESOETA...STILL EXPECT PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW
THIS AFTERNOON WITH A SEVERAL HOUR PERIOD OF TWO INCH ACCUMULATIONS
PER HOUR.

AFTER PRECIPITATION EXITS THE AREA TONIGHT...QUIET WEATHER MOVES IN
FOR SUN.  WENT BELOW FWC/MAV TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE FOR BOTH SUNDAY
MAXIMA AND SUN NIGHT MINIMA GIVEN EXPECTED SNOW COVER.

NEXT SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE AREA ON MONDAY HAS BEEN PERSISTENT IN THE
MODELS AND ALTHOUGH IT STILL LOOKS LIKE IT WILL MAINLY BE OFF THE
COAST...IT IS CLOSE ENOUGH AND PERSISTENT ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE CHANCE
POPS FOR MON SOUTH AND EAST OF PHL.

NEXT SYSTEM FOR MID-WEEK LOOKS WETTER AND WARMER.

AS FOR TODAY...THINK SNOW.

FCSTID = 15
MPO   26  22  32  18 /  90 100   0  10
ABE   28  24  34  21 / 100 100   0  10
RDG   28  24  34  21 / 100 100   0  10
PHL   32  25  37  27 / 100 100   0  10
12N   28  22  33  21 / 100 100   0  10
SMQ   31  26  36  26 / 100 100   0  10
TTN   31  26  36  26 / 100 100   0  10
MIV   33  27  38  26 / 100 100   0  10
ACY   35  29  37  31 / 100 100   0  10
ILG   32  26  37  26 / 100 100   0  10
DOV   33  27  38  26 / 100 100   0  10
GED   35  28  38  27 / 100 100   0  10
ESN   33  27  38  26 / 100 100   0  10

.PHI...
DE...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONE DEZ001.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONES DEZ002>004.

MD...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONES MDZ008...MDZ012...
MDZ015.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONES MDZ019>020.

NJ...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONES NJZ001...
NJZ007>010...NJZ012>020...NJZ026.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONES NJZ021>025.

PA...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SATURDAY FOR ZONES PAZ054>055...
PAZ060>062...PAZ067>071.

.MARINE...HEADLINE FOR SCA MAY BE NEEDED FOR TONIGHT LOWER DE BAY
AND NJ/DE COAST

SZATKOWSKI

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow, 1 winter storm, 1 sleet. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When: January 19, 9:00 AM EST to 11:30 PM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Delaware

When: January 19, 10:00 AM EST to January 20, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chester

When: January 19, 10:00 AM EST to January 20, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Chester forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Sleet, Philadelphia

When: January 19, 10:30 AM EST to January 20, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Philadelphia forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bucks

When: January 19, 11:00 AM EST to January 20, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Lehigh

When: January 19, 11:00 AM EST to January 20, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Lehigh forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Montgomery

When: January 19, 11:00 AM EST to January 20, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Berks

When: January 19, 11:00 AM EST to January 20, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Berks forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Carbon

When: January 19, 11:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where: Carbon forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northampton

When: January 19, 11:00 AM EST to January 20, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Northampton forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.754, -75.307 (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.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Sleet: Sleet accumulating half an inch or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5277903, 5277898, 5277901, 5277899, 5277900, 5277902, 5277904, 5277905, 5277906, 5277907.