Winter Storm, Rutland
- When
- January 4, 2:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rutland forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 43.580, -73.037 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Vermont, January 4, 2003
A storm system over Virginia Friday morning (1/3/03) moved to coastal New Jersey Friday evening and then to near Cape Cod Saturday morning (1/4/03). Snow spread across the area Friday afternoon, and was heavy at times overnight Friday into Saturday morning.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $60,000
- 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 happened
The episode as NWS BTV wrote it up.
A storm system over Virginia Friday morning (1/3/03) moved to coastal New Jersey Friday evening and then to near Cape Cod Saturday morning (1/4/03). Snow spread across the area Friday afternoon, and was heavy at times overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Accumulations were generally between 10 and 20 inches. East Wallingford (Rutland county) received 15 inches, Springfield (Windsor county) received 20 inches, while Brookfield (Orange county) reported 13 inches. Roads were treacherous. A few power outages were reported in Windsor county.
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 Burlington, VT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 9:45 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 9:45 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
945 PM EST FRI JAN 3 2003
WILL ALLOW WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES TO
CONTINUE. SNOW CONTINUES TO SPREAD NORTHWARD TONIGHT AND THIS TREND
WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. INTENSITY SHOULD ALSO BE INCREASING
OVERNIGHT AS FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR BANDED PRECIPITATION DEVELOP.
THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER OF NEW YORK STATE
AND THE EXTREME SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF VERMONT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE
WHERE REPORTS FROM THESE AREAS INDICATE ANYWHERE FROM 4 TO 14
INCHES ROUGHLY IN THE PAST 12 HOURS. SO NO CHANGES WILL BE MADE TO
THE GOING FORECAST AT THIS TIME.
EVENSON
.BTV...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY
VTZ001>012 AND NYZ028>031-034-035.
WINTER WX ADVISORY TONIGHT THRU SATURDAY MORNING NYZ026-027.Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 6:05 AM EST, 19 hours 55 minutes before
NYZ026>031-034-035-VTZ001>009-031245- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT 605 AM EST FRI JAN 3 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VERMONT AS WELL AS NORTHERN NEW YORK. .DAY ONE...TODAY A LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. WILL MOVE NORTHEAST AND REDEVELOP OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST THIS AFTERNOON. SNOW WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION BY THIS AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT...AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VERMONT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THE LOW PRESSURE AREA WILL BE JUST SOUTH OF CAPE COD BY DAYBREAK ON SATURDAY MORNING. SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY MORNING...BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL FROM THIS STORM WILL BE ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VERMONT...WHERE A FOOT OR MORE IS LIKELY. THE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM THIS STORM WILL BE LESS THE FURTHER NORTH YOU GO... WITH LOCATIONS NEAR THE CANADIAN BORDER SEEING THE LEAST AMOUNT OF SNOW. THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION WILL SEE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES BY SATURDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... NO SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS REQUIRED AT THIS TIME...BUT SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO RELAY SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM THIS STORM TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BURLINGTON.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Orange
- When
- January 4, 2:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.006, -72.377 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Windsor
- When
- January 4, 2:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
- Where
- Windsor forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
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
- Winter Storm in Vermont, January 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in Vermont, January 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in New York, January 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in New York, January 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in Vermont, January 4, 2003
- High Wind in South Dakota, January 4, 2003
- High Wind in Hawaii, January 4 to 5, 2003
- Winter Storm in Maine, January 4 to 5, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Maine, January 4 to 5, 2003
- Winter Weather in New York, January 4, 2003
- Blizzard in Maine, January 4 to 5, 2003
- Winter Storm in New York, January 4, 2003
More
Every storm in Vermont in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Vermont, 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: 5341071, 5341072, 5341073.