Virginia, 2002

Winter Storm in Virginia, January 19, 2002

January 19, 2002 · NWS RNK · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Snow accumulated several inches during the morning of the 19th before changing to freezing rain. Ice accretion reached a quarter of an inch before the freezing rain ended in the evening.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 RNK wrote it up.

Snow accumulated several inches during the morning of the 19th before changing to freezing rain. Ice accretion reached a quarter of an inch before the freezing rain ended in the evening.

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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 19, 3:12 AM EST, 4 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 3:12 AM EST, 4 hours 48 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA
312 AM EST SAT JAN 19 2002

BAND OF SNOW MOVING THROUGH SOUTHERN VA WELL AHD OF MAIN SYSTEM NOT
PUTTING DOWN TOO MUCH...DUSTING TO AN INCH AT MOST.

AFTER COORDINATION CALLS...WILL LEAVE WARNINGS/ADVISORIES AS IS...AS
THE EVENT HAS YET TO BEGIN IN EARNEST. HOWEVER...CONFIDENCE IS LOW
FOR THE SERN GROUP GETTING 1/4 INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION. WILL TOUCH
UP WORDING...MOST ZONES. THINKING SE GROUP WILL BE MAINLY FZRA THIS
MORNING MIXING WITH AND CHANGING TO RAIN BY MIDDAY. FAST MOVING
SYSTEM WITH SW FLOW ALOFT KEEPS QPF AMOUNTS LIGHTER THAN WHAT MODEL
PRINTS OUT. CUT THE QPF BY ABOUT A THIRD. WARM NOSE PUNCHING IN
TODAY...BUT INSITU DAMMING WILL KEEP THE SURFACE AOB FREEZING IN
CLIMATOLOGICALLY FAVORED AREAS. TEMPS AT 850 HAVE WARMED FROM -7 TO
+1 FROM 00Z TO 06Z AT RNK. AVN TREND APPEARS BEST. EXPECT A COOL
DOWN AGAIN INTIALLY AT ONSET OF PRECIP. LOW DEWPOINTS/WETBULBS BELOW
ZERO EXPECTED TO KEEP LOCATIONS ACROSS NRN HALF IN A FREEZING/FROZEN
P-TYPE. FAR SW VA WILL SEE A TRANSITION FROM SN/IP INITIALLY TO FZRA
TO RAIN BY MIDDAY...ALL RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. AVN/S SPEED FOLLOWED
AND PCPN SHOULD BE OUT OF THE CWA BY 00Z...WITH LINGERING FLURRIES
IN THE WEST.

AFTERWARDS...S/W RIDGE BUILDS ON FOR SUNDAY THEN ANOTHER VORT
ROTATES IN FOR MONDAY...WITH GENERALLY A ZONAL FLOW NEXT WEEK WITH
NEXT CHANCE STILL ON WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF NEXT DIGGING S/W IN THE SRN
PLNS. WILL LEAVE EXTENDED AS IS...SINCE MAIN CONCENTRATION IS ON
TODAY/S STORM.

WILL KEEP TEMPS 30-35 IN THE SOUTH/FAR SW FOR TODAY...AND AROUND 30
OR LOWER ELSEWHERE.

.RNK...
NC...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY FOR ALL.

VA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY VAZ007-009.
     WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY REMAINDER OF FORECAST AREA.

WV...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY WVZ042-043.
     WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY WVZ044-045.

WHP

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Carroll

When
January 19, 8:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.697, -80.829 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When
January 19, 8:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.174, -80.387 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Roanoke

When
January 19, 8:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Roanoke forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.258, -80.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grayson

When
January 19, 8:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Grayson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.657, -81.225 (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 Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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: 5278360, 5278361, 5278362, 5278363.