Heavy Snow in Texas, January 1, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Texas, January 1, 2002
Start: 2002-01-01T04:00
End: 2002-01-01T18:00
Location: Texas

January 1, 2002 · NWS SJT · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 9

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 SJT wrote it up.

A winter storm produced snow accumulation across parts of the Concho Valley and Heartland during the morning hours of the 1st. The heaviest snow fell along a band from San Angelo to Coleman, where reports of 3 to 4 inches were received. Most other areas saw totals of only 1 to 2 inches. With travel already slowed by the holiday and with schools not in session, disruption to the area was light. Only a few minor traffic accidents were noted, with no injuries reported.

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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 1, 3:29 AM CST, 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 3:29 AM CST, 31 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX
329 AM CST TUE JAN 01 2002

CURRENTLY REGIONAL RADARS SHOW LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS STRETCHING ACROSS
THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE BIG COUNTRY AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF
THE CONCHO VALLEY AND HEARTLAND. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A STRONG
SHORTWAVE MOVING EAST BETWEEN EL PASO AND MIDLAND. SPOTTER CALLS
INDICATED A TRACE TO ONE INCH FELL ACROSS THE BIG COUNTRY
OVERNIGHT...WITH THE MOST IN THE WEST. SJT RADAR WOULD INDICATE
LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE NORTHERN HEARTLAND AND CONCHO
VALLEY.

TODAY...AMPLE MOISTURE HAS WORKED INTO THE AREA WITH NEARLY
SATURATED CONDITIONS COVERING MUCH OF THE NORTHERN THREE FOURTHS OF
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS. DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE MESOETA AND AVN HAVE
SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE EXACT TIMING AND LOCATION OF SNOWFALL WITH
THIS SYSTEM...HAVE OPTED TO LEAN TOWARDS THE AVN WHICH APPEARS TO BE
HANDLING INITIALIZATION WITH THE SYSTEM A BIT BETTER. A VIGOROUS
SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED STRONG POSITIVE VORTICITY ADVECTION WILL
MOVE ACROSS THIS MORNING (LOOKING AT KMAF RADAR) THE BEST CHANCES
EARLY THIS MORNING WILL BE ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE BIG
COUNTRY AND THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE HEARTLAND. THE MOST FAVORED
AREA WILL SHIFT SOUTHWEST LATER THIS MORNING ACROSS THE CONCHO
VALLEY TO THE NORTHERN EDWARDS PLATEAU. BY THIS AFTERNOON...AS THE
UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT MOVES OFF TO THE EAST...THE PERIODS OF SNOW
SHOULD SLOWLY TAPER OFF TO SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA AS
THE BEST CHANCES WILL ALSO SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST. GENERALLY EXPECT
TODAYS ACCUMULATIONS TO BE IN THE 1 TO 2 INCH RANGE. A FEW LOCATIONS
MAY SEE AMOUNTS UP TO 3 INCHES BUT THESE SHOULD ONLY BE ISOLATED
ACROSS THE WESTERN COUNTIES.

BY THIS EVENING...MUCH OF THE MID/UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE BEGINS TO
STRIP AWAY ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES. HOWEVER AMPLE LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE CONTINUES TO LINGER. THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA
WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THE BEST CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH THE
EVENING. WITH THE 06Z MESOETA BEGINNING TO COME IN AND SUPPORTING
THE 00Z AVN...WILL SLIGHTLY INCREASE THE CHANCES OF SNOW SHOWERS
THIS EVENING...HOWEVER LITTLE OR NO ACCUMULATION CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH THESE SHOWERS.

WEDNESDAY...MUCH DRIER AIR SLOWLY THINS OUT THE PERSISTENT LOW LEVEL
CLOUDS...BUT ENOUGH REMAINS TO CONTINUE CLOUDY CONDITIONS ACROSS
MUCH OF THE REGION.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WITH HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE AREA AND CLEARING
SKIES EXPECT THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES SO FAR THIS WINTER...WITH LOWS
DROPPING INTO THE UPPER TEENS.

THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY...A SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS ON THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY AS THE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. THIS
WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO WARM UP A BIT. SATURDAY THERE IS
CURRENTLY NO MENTION OF PRECIPITATION...HOWEVER WITH MOISTURE
RETURNING WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM...THIS WILL HAVE TO BE MONITORED AS
IT APPEARS MARGINAL FOR MENTIONING SHOWERS.

ABI 030/021/034/019 8200
SJT 031/022/037/018 9300
JCT 032/021/040/016 7300

.SJT...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY FOR ALL OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS
TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140-
154-155-168>170.

24

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Brown

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.774, -99.000 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Coleman

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Coleman forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.773, -99.454 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Concho

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Concho forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.327, -99.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Crockett

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Crockett forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.723, -101.412 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Irion

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Irion forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.304, -100.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, McCulloch

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: McCulloch forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.199, -99.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Runnels

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Runnels forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.831, -99.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sterling

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Sterling forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.828, -101.050 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tom Green

When: January 1, 4:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Tom Green forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.404, -100.462 (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 Texas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, 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: 5276658, 5276659, 5276660, 5276661, 5276662, 5276663, 5276664, 5276665, 5276666.