Winter Weather in Maryland, January 30, 2005

Name: Winter Weather in Maryland, January 30, 2005
Start: 2005-01-30T00:00
End: 2005-01-30T17:00
Location: Maryland

January 30, 2005 · NWS AKQ · 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 AKQ wrote it up.

A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain produced one half inch to two inches of snow, and around 1/8 of an inch of ice across the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore. The mixture of precipitation caused slippery roadways, which resulted in several accidents. The highest snow amounts were reported in Cambridge in Dorchester county 1.8", and Salisbury in Wicomico county 1".

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 Wakefield, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 10:00 PM EST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 10:00 PM EST, 2 hours before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 29, 6:00 AM EST, 18 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
600 AM EST SAT JAN 29 2005

MDZ021>025-NCZ012>017-030>032-102-VAZ048-049-060>100-301030-
ACCOMACK VA-AMELIA VA-BERTIE NC-BRUNSWICK VA-CAMDEN NC-CAROLINE VA-
CHARLES CITY VA-CHESAPEAKE VA-CHESTERFIELD VA-CHOWAN NC-
CUMBERLAND VA-DINWIDDIE VA-DORCHESTER MD-EASTERN CURRITUCK NC-
ESSEX VA-FLUVANNA VA-GATES NC-GLOUCESTER VA-GOOCHLAND VA-
GREENSVILLE VA-HANOVER VA-HENRICO VA-HERTFORD NC-INLAND WORCESTER MD-
ISLE OF WIGHT VA-JAMES CITY VA-KING AND QUEEN VA-KING WILLIAM VA-
LANCASTER VA-LOUISA VA-LUNENBURG VA-MARYLAND BEACHES MD-MATHEWS VA-
MECKLENBURG VA-MIDDLESEX VA-NEW KENT VA-NEWPORT NEWS/HAMPTON VA-
NORFOLK/PORTSMOUTH VA-NORTHAMPTON VA-NORTHAMPTON NC-
NORTHUMBERLAND VA-NOTTOWAY VA-PASQUOTANK NC-PERQUIMANS NC-
POWHATAN VA-PRINCE EDWARD VA-PRINCE GEORGE VA-RICHMOND VA-
SOMERSET MD-SOUTHAMPTON VA-SUFFOLK VA-SURRY VA-SUSSEX VA-
VIRGINIA BEACH VA-WESTERN CURRITUCK NC-WESTMORELAND VA-WICOMICO MD-
YORK VA-
600 AM EST SAT JAN 29 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN VIRGINIA...
NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA AND THE EASTERN MARYLAND SHORE.

.DAY ONE...TODAY...
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. BUT...A MIXTURE OF
SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WILL DEVELOP LATER THIS EVENING
ACROSS CENTRAL VIRGINIA...THEN EXPAND EASTWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER
OF THE AREA LATER TONIGHT...WITH MAINLY RAIN OVER EXTREME SOUTHEAST
VIRGINIA AND COASTAL NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA. SEE WSWAKQ FOR
INFORMATION ON WINTER STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS...AND WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORIES STARTING TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
A WINTER STORM WILL AFFECT THE AREA SUNDAY...THEN MOVE OFF THE
COAST AND OUT TO SEA SUNDAY NIGHT. SEE WSWAKQ FOR MORE INFORMATION.
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME FOR DAYS THREE
THROUGH SEVEN.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS ANTICIPATED.

FORECASTER ID
TG

THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES...AND
STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
WAKEFIELD, VA CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT THE FOLLOWING
(LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/AKQ.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 29, 6:24 PM EST, 5 hours 36 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAKEFIELD VA
624 PM EST SAT JAN 29 2005

MDZ024-025-NCZ012>014-030-VAZ084>086-089>094-096-097-099-100-300500-
ACCOMACK VA-BERTIE NC-CHESAPEAKE VA-GATES NC-GLOUCESTER VA-
HERTFORD NC-INLAND WORCESTER MD-ISLE OF WIGHT VA-JAMES CITY VA-
MARYLAND BEACHES MD-MATHEWS VA-MIDDLESEX VA-NEWPORT NEWS/HAMPTON VA-
NORTHAMPTON VA-NORTHAMPTON NC-SOUTHAMPTON VA-SUFFOLK VA-SURRY VA-
YORK VA-

...PERIOD OF MIXED PRECIPITATION EXPECTED TONIGHT OVER INLAND
PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA...NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA...AND THE
LOWER EASTERN SHORE...

PRECIPITATION WILL OVERSPREAD THE MID ATLANTIC REGION TONIGHT. THIS
PRECIPITATION WILL LIKELY BEGIN AS A SNOW...SLEET MIX ACROSS THE
LOWER VIRGINIA EASTERN SHORE...EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE MARYLAND
EASTERN SHORE...THE PENINSULA...AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE MIDDLE
PENINSULA LATER THIS EVENING...AS WELL AS INTERIOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA.  A FEW POCKETS OF FREEZING RAIN ARE EVEN
POSSIBLE...DEPENDING ON THE SURFACE TEMPERATURE...WHICH WILL LIKELY
BE WITHIN A FEW DEGREES OF FREEZING. PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO
CHANGE TO MAINLY RAIN EARLY SUNDAY IN THESE AREAS...WITH LITTLE OR NO
SNOW OR ICE ACCUMULATION EXPECTED.

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

18

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 weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Dorchester

When: January 30, 12:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Dorchester forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.423, -76.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Inland Worcester / Except X E Worcester

When: January 30, 12:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Inland Worcester / Except X E Worcester forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.217, -75.297 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Maryland Beaches / X E Worcester

When: January 30, 12:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Maryland Beaches / X E Worcester forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.217, -75.297 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Somerset

When: January 30, 12:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.080, -75.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Wicomico

When: January 30, 12:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Wicomico forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.369, -75.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Maryland in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, January 2005

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: 5437196, 5437197, 5437198, 5437199, 5437200.