Ice Storm in Pennsylvania, January 2 to 3, 2003

Name: Ice Storm in Pennsylvania, January 2 to 3, 2003
Start: 2003-01-02T17:00
End: 2003-01-03T20:00
Location: Pennsylvania

January 2 to 3, 2003 · NWS CTP · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

3 ice storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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 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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 2, 1:40 PM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 1:40 PM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
140 PM EST THU JAN 2 2003

...ISC BY 3 PM...WORK ZONES BY 345 PM...ZONES BY 4 PM...

...CHANGES...

WILL MENTION POCKETS OF IP/ZR TO I/80 NOW. HOWEVER...BULK OF PCPN
WOULD STILL BE SNOW.

WILL UPGRADE WATCH AREA TO WARNING...LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY
NIGHT.

WILL ISSUE ADVISORY FOR FAR SE PART OF CWA LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY
NIGHT.

...DISC...

...SHORT TERM...

NEXT SYSTEM LIFTS NE INTO THE OH VLY...BRINGING SEVERAL INCHES
OF SNOW TO W AREAS TONIGHT.

SECONDARY SYSTEM FIRES UP ON FRIDAY...MANY AREAS LIKELY TO SEE
6 INCHES...BEFORE THE SNOW TAPERS OFF LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.

COULD BE SOME SLEET/ZR...EVEN TO INTERSTATE 80...THIS BEEN THE CASE
THIS SEASON...OFTEN TO THE NY BORDER. IN THIS CASE...NEW AVN WARMER
AT 850 MB...ZERO LINE TO NEAR I/80.

...LONG TERM...

CHC OF SNOW SHOWERS NOW AND THEN THRU NEXT THU...CLOSE CALL ON BIG
COASTAL FOR MID WEEK...BUT STILL THINK WE WILL MISS THE BULK OF THIS
ONE.

.CTP...

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR LATE TONGIHT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT FOR ALL
COUNTIES BUT PAZ064>066.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT FOR
PAZ064>066.

MARTIN

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 2, 5:45 AM EST, 11 hours 15 minutes before

PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024>028-033>037-041-042-045-046-049>053-
056>059-063>066-021330-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA
545 AM EST THU JAN 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

AREAS OF LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE THIS MORNING COULD RESULT IN THIN
GLAZING OF UNTREATED SURFACES AND HAZARDOUS TRAVEL...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THE NEXT WINTER STORM...CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS THE MID MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY...WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. 6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW COULD FALL BY
MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA AND
THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY...EAST TO THE POCONO MOUNTAIN REGION.

AS THE TRACK AND INTENSITY OF THE STORM BECOMES MORE
CERTAIN...WINTER STORM WATCHES COVERING A LARGE AREA OF CENTRAL AND
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA FOR FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT MAY BE UPGRADED TO
WINTER STORM WARNINGS LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT.

ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT MIXED PRECIPITATION OR SNOW EVENT IS POSSIBLE
MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL RATES OF AN
INCH OR MORE PER HOUR FRIDAY...OR EVERY 3 INCHES OF SNOW.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

LAMBERT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Adams

When: January 2, 5:00 PM EST to January 3, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.872, -77.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved into the Ohio Valley during Thursday evening, January 2nd, bringing a light coating of snow and freezing rain to the region. As the low redeveloped along the East Coast early on Friday, January 3rd, a steadier mixture of snow and freezing rain overspread Adams, Lancaster and York Counties. Ice accretions in excess of one quarter inch, in addition to snowfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches resulted in hazardous travel conditions during much of Friday across much of the lower Susquehanna Valley and adjacent southeast portions of Pennsylvania.

Ice Storm, Lancaster

When: January 2, 5:00 PM EST to January 3, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.042, -76.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, York

When: January 2, 5:00 PM EST to January 3, 8:00 PM EST
Where: York forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.920, -76.726 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5340042, 5340043, 5340044.