New York, 2003

Heavy Snow in New York, January 3 to 4, 2003

January 3 to 4, 2003 · NWS BGM · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

A slow moving nor'easter moved from the southeast United States early on the 3rd to the Delmarva peninsula that evening. The storm then moved to the southeast New England coast the morning of the 4th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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
$6.0 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
18

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 BGM wrote it up.

A slow moving nor'easter moved from the southeast United States early on the 3rd to the Delmarva peninsula that evening. The storm then moved to the southeast New England coast the morning of the 4th. Snow spread well ahead of the storm into central New York the evening of the 2nd. The snow was heavy at times on the 3rd during the day into the evening. Snowfall amounts were 8 to 14 inches in the central southern tier, Finger Lakes region, and northern Oneida County and 10 to 20 inches elsewhere. The highest amounts of up to 25 inches were in Broome, Tioga, southern Cortland and southern Chenango Counties. Water equivalents were mostly half an inch in the western areas to an inch and a half in eastern areas. The weight of the snow combined with the weight of ice from the New Year's day storm caused additional power outages. At least 20,000 customers were without power at some time. Some customers were without power for up to a week. Emergency shelters were set up in some areas. The worst hit areas were again in northern Broome and southern Cortland Counties. These areas were without power after the ice storm on the first of the month. Tompkins County was also hard hit. All of the major roads had motor vehicle accidents. Some were serious enough to close the interstate highways.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Broome

When
January 3, 3:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Broome forecast zone
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.160, -75.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chenango

When
January 3, 3:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Chenango forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.494, -75.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
January 3, 3:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.198, -74.966 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Onondaga

When
January 3, 3:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Onondaga forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.006, -76.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Otsego

When
January 3, 3:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Otsego forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.634, -75.033 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tioga

When
January 3, 3:00 PM EST to January 4, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Tioga forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.170, -76.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cortland

When
January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Cortland forecast zone
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.595, -76.070 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Madison

When
January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.913, -75.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Seneca

When
January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Seneca forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.781, -76.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cayuga

When
January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Cayuga forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.010, -76.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Oneida

When
January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Oneida forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.242, -75.436 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chemung

When
January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Chemung forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.141, -76.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Schuyler

When
January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Schuyler forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.394, -76.875 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Steuben

When
January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Steuben forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.268, -77.384 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sullivan

When
January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Sullivan forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.716, -74.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tompkins

When
January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Tompkins forecast zone
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.452, -76.474 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Yates

When
January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Yates forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.633, -77.105 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Oneida

When
January 3, 7:00 PM EST to January 4, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Oneida forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.242, -75.436 (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

More

Every storm in New York in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, January 2003

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5340967, 5340969, 5340971, 5340974, 5340975, 5340982, 5340970, 5340972, 5340977, 5340978, 5340979, 5340968, 5340976, 5340980, 5340981, 5341059, 5341060, 5340973.