Heavy Snow in New York, February 12 to 13, 2003

A strong fast moving arctic front went through central New York around 6 AM the morning of the 12th. Snow started early in the morning of the 12th but accumulations were light until just before the front. With and behind the front heavy snow combined with west winds gusting over 40 miles an hour to create white out conditions. Snow accumulations were two inches an hour with the front and for the rest of the morning. The winds subsided during the afternoon of the 12th then became light on the 13th. Lake effect snow bands continued behind the front into the 13th. The intensity of the bands decreased while the bands finally shifted south on the morning of the 13th. Snowfall amounts were highest north of the New York State Thruway in western Oneida, northern Madison, and extreme northern Onondaga counties. In these areas 6 to 14 inches of snow fell. Temperatures dropped into the single digits on the morning of the 13th. Multiple accidents occurred. A woman was hit and injured by a car the afternoon of the 12th during whiteout conditions in the town of Sullivan in Madison County.