Winter Storm in New York, January 3 to 4, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in New York, January 3 to 4, 2003
Start: 2003-01-03T18:00
End: 2003-01-04T04:00
Location: New York

January 3 to 4, 2003 · NWS OKX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 OKX wrote it up.

A cold front moved across the region during the pre-dawn hours, early on Wednesday, January 1st before stalling just off the coast later that day. During the evening on January 1st, a developing area of low pressure began to move northeast from the Delmarva Peninsula along the frontal boundary. By morning, the center of the low moved well off to the northeast of the New England coast. During the day on Thursday, January 2nd, a second area of low pressure began to develop over Virginia. This low quickly intensified and took over as the primary storm as it moved slowly northeast Thursday night. The center of this low pressure system was south of Long Island by Friday afternoon, and just southeast of Nantucket by Saturday morning.Light and spotty precipitation, generally in the form of snow fell across Southeastern New York just before midnight on the night of January 2nd into the 3rd. This light and intermittent snow continued through the night before developing into a steady light snow around daybreak. The snow continued through the morning on January 3rd, before becoming heavy at times in the afternoon. During the afternoon, warmer air off the ocean started to protrude inland. As a result, the snow changed over to freezing rain over portions of northern Westchester county and southeast Rockland county. Further north and west, over Putnam and Orange counties, the precipitation continued to fall as snow. The precipitation became more light in nature, but remained steady during the evening hours on January 3rd. The precipitation continued to fall as snow over Orange and Putnam counties, with a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain over portions of Rockland and Westchester counties, and primarily freezing rain over the southern portion of Rockland county and central and northern Westchester county. The precipitation tapered off after midnight on the night of January 3rd into the 4th, before ending in the form of light snow and flurries everywhere around daybreak on Saturday, January 4th.Storm total accumulations were as follows:Orange County: 10-16 inches of snowPutnam County: 5-8 inches of snow, with a light accumulation of iceRockland County: 2-3 inches of snow, with a significant accumulation of iceWestchester County: 4-8 inches of snow, with a significant accumulation of ice

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 2:50 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 2:50 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 6:05 AM EST, 11 hours 55 minutes before

CTZ005>012-NJZ002>006-011-NYZ067>081-041215-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPTON NY
605 AM EST FRI JAN 3 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST NEW YORK...NORTHEAST
NEW JERSEY AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT.

.DAY ONE...
NOREASTER WILL AFFECT THE TRI-STATE REGION TODAY THROUGH MIDDAY
SATURDAY. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED FOR INTERIOR LOCATIONS WHERE A
WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN POSTED. WITH CONSIDERABLY LESSER
AMOUNTS EXPECTED NEAR THE COAST...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN
ISSUED. IN ADDITION...WIDESPREAD MINOR COASTAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED
TODAY WITH MINOR TO MODERATE COASTAL FLOODING EXPECTED TONIGHT. AS
SUCH A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN CONTINUED FOR TONIGHT. GALE
WARNINGS HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR ALL WATERS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
THE STORM HEADS OUT TO SEA SATURDAY WITH ALL WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES
CONTINUED THROUGH MIDDAY SATURDAY. THEREAFTER NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER
IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY LATER TODAY THROUGH MIDDAY OR SO
SATURDAY.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Orange

When: January 3, 6:00 PM EST to January 4, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.402, -74.306 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Putnam

When: January 3, 9:00 PM EST to January 4, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.427, -73.749 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rockland

When: January 3, 9:00 PM EST to January 4, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Rockland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.152, -74.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Westchester

When: January 3, 9:00 PM EST to January 4, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Westchester forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.152, -73.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Westchester

When: January 3, 9:00 PM EST to January 4, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Westchester forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.152, -73.753 (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

Every storm in New York in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5341701, 5341702, 5341703, 5341704, 5341705.