Heavy Snow, Dickenson
- When
- February 4, 5:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
- Where
- Dickenson forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.126, -82.350 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Virginia, February 4, 2002
One to 3 inches of snow accumulated from showers, as a cold northwest wind blew.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 RLX wrote it up.
One to 3 inches of snow accumulated from showers, as a cold northwest wind blew.
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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 4, 3:32 AM EST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 3:32 AM EST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 332 AM EST MON FEB 04 2002 INITIAL SHOT OF -SHSN WITH FIRST SHORTWAVE IS MOSTLY THROUGH THE CWA. ARCTIC FRONT CUTTING ACROSS CENTRAL OH CURRENTLY. MODELS SIMILAR ON TIMING/STRENGTH OF FRONT AND ASSOCIATED MID LEVEL WAVES...STILL THINK ETA IS A LITTLE TOO HIGH ON LIQUID EQUIVALENT THOUGH. NEVERTHELESS...STRONG CAA AT H850 WILL PROVIDE GOOD INSTABILITY FOR -SHSN PRODUCTION THROUGH THE DAY...AS WELL AS FALLING TEMPERATURES. IDEAL UPSLOPE SITUATION SETTING UP...PARTICULARLY IN THE 15Z-21Z TIME FRAME AS MAIN VORT MAX ROTATES THROUGH. THINK WE WILL SEE SOME 2-4 INCH SNOWS IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...THEREFORE ADVISORY WILL BE POSTED. GOING 1-2 INCHES IN SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN COUNTIES AND NORTH CENTRAL ZONE...AND A FLUFFY INCH IN SOUTH CENTRAL COUNTIES. COULD SEE A SPOTTY INCH IN THE WESTERN COUNTIES BUT POPS WILL BE LOW ENOUGH TO LEAVE ACCUMULATIONS OUT. WINDS WILL BE HOWLING BUT ADVISORY NOT NEEDED WITH H850 WINDS TOPPING OUT AROUND 40 KNOTS. WILL PLAY UP STRONG GUSTS TO 45 MPH IN MOUNTAINS. THINGS QUIET DOWN TONIGHT AS FLATTENING MID LEVEL RIDGE MOVES IN AND SURFACE HIGH POKES IN BY 12Z. LEAVING EARLY -SHSN IN NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...WILL HAVE DECREASING CLOUDS AND WINDS ELSEWHERE. THINK WESTERN COUNTIES MAY SEE GRADIENT SLACKEN EARLY ENOUGH TO RADIATE A BIT...SO WENT A TAD BELOW COLDER FWC HERE. CLOSER TO FWC TO THE EAST. TUESDAY...HIGH AND DRY WITH SUNNY SKIES AND MODERATING TEMPS AS H850 TROUGH LIFTS OUT. STILL BELOW NORMAL...BUT A FEW AREAS SHOULD TOUCH 40 AT LEAST. GENERALLY A FWC/MAV BLEND ON TEMPS. MAIN CHANGES IN THE EXTENDED ARE TO MOVE MIDWEEK SYSTEM QUICKER PER 00Z AVN...THINK THIS IS REASONABLE AS PATTERN DEAMPLIFIES A BIT. BRINGING -SN CHANCE TO THE FAR SOUTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. KEEPING -RA/-SN MIX CHANCE ON THURSDAY BUT ENDING POPS 12 HOURS EARLIER. FAST MOVING PATTERN MAKES GETTING A READ ON LATER PERIODS DIFFICULT. LEAVING FORECAST UNCHANGED AFTER THURSDAY NIGHT. .RLX... WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR ZONES WVZ037>040-046-047. OH...NONE. KY...NONE. VA...NONE. .END/CL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- High Wind in South Carolina, February 4, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, February 4, 2002
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 4, 2002
- High Wind in North Carolina, February 4, 2002
- High Wind in North Carolina, February 4 to 5, 2002
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 4, 2002
- High Wind in New Jersey, February 4, 2002
- Winter Storm in Maine, February 4 to 5, 2002
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, February 4 to 5, 2002
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, February 4, 2002
- High Wind in Maryland, February 4, 2002
- High Wind in North Carolina, February 4, 2002
More
Every storm in Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, February 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: 5278822.