Pennsylvania, 2002

Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, January 31, 2002

January 31, 2002 · NWS BGM · 7 events in 7 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; 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
7

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. Most locations had two inches or less of snow. By 10 AM most locations had changed over to freezing rain. Steady freezing rain, at times moderate, fell during the daytime. By evening the Wayne and Pike counties 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 were up to a quarter of an inch.

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

7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Bradford

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Bradford forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.789, -76.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lackawanna

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Lackawanna forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.437, -75.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Luzerne

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Luzerne forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.177, -75.989 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pike

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.332, -75.034 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Susquehanna

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Susquehanna forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.821, -75.801 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wayne

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.649, -75.303 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wyoming

When
January 31, 1:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where
Wyoming forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.518, -76.016 (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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5279874, 5279875, 5279876, 5279877, 5279878, 5279879, 5279880.