Winter Storm in Vermont, December 12, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Vermont, December 12, 2002
Start: 2002-12-12T04:00
End: 2002-12-12T09:00
Location: Vermont

December 12, 2002 · NWS BTV · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: $30,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

An area of low pressure off the South Carolina coast Wednesday morning, December 11th, moved northeast to near Cape Cod by Thursday morning, December 12th. The system continued moving northeast thereafter. Snow developed across the area during the night and became heavy at times after midnight into the early morning of December 12th. Snow accumulations were generally between 5 and 10 inches, with the greatest amounts along and east of the Green Mountains.

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 Dec 11, 9:50 PM EST, 6 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 11, 9:50 PM EST, 6 hours 10 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 11, 5:18 AM EST, 22 hours 42 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Orange

When: December 12, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.006, -72.377 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rutland

When: December 12, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Rutland forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.580, -73.037 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Windsor

When: December 12, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where: Windsor forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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 Vermont in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Vermont, December 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: 5324886, 5324887, 5324888.