New York, 2012

Heavy Snow in New York, January 21, 2012

January 21, 2012 · NWS OKX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Low pressure tracked from the Tennesse Valley to Mid-Altantic coast Friday night into early Saturday morning, and then just south of Long Island on Saturday. A band of moderate to heavy snow to the north of the low brought 5 to 7 inches of snow across the Lower Hudson Valley and northeast Suffolk County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
4

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.

Low pressure tracked from the Tennesse Valley to Mid-Altantic coast Friday night into early Saturday morning, and then just south of Long Island on Saturday. A band of moderate to heavy snow to the north of the low brought 5 to 7 inches of snow across the Lower Hudson Valley and northeast Suffolk 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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 6:34 PM EST, 7 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 6:34 PM EST, 7 hours 56 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 20, 3:44 PM EST, 10 hours 46 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
344 PM EST FRI JAN 20 2012

CTZ005>012-NJZ002-004-006-103>108-NYZ067>075-078>081-176>179-212045-
NORTHERN FAIRFIELD-NORTHERN NEW HAVEN-NORTHERN MIDDLESEX-
NORTHERN NEW LONDON-SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD-SOUTHERN NEW HAVEN-
SOUTHERN MIDDLESEX-SOUTHERN NEW LONDON-WESTERN PASSAIC-
EASTERN PASSAIC-HUDSON-WESTERN BERGEN-EASTERN BERGEN-WESTERN ESSEX-
EASTERN ESSEX-WESTERN UNION-EASTERN UNION-ORANGE-PUTNAM-ROCKLAND-
NORTHERN WESTCHESTER-SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER-NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)-BRONX-
RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)-KINGS (BROOKLYN)-NORTHWESTERN SUFFOLK-
NORTHEASTERN SUFFOLK-SOUTHWESTERN SUFFOLK-SOUTHEASTERN SUFFOLK-
NORTHERN QUEENS-NORTHERN NASSAU-SOUTHERN QUEENS-SOUTHERN NASSAU-
344 PM EST FRI JAN 20 2012

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 4 PM EST
SATURDAY...

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE
INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS.

   WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

&&

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL
WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER EVENTS THAT MAY REACH NWS WARNING
CRITERIA. MOST LONG FUSED NWS WATCHES...WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES IN
EFFECT ARE HIGHLIGHTED.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST NWS FORECASTS FOR WEATHER NOT MEETING NWS
WARNING CRITERIA.

ANZ330-335-338-340-345-350-353-355-212045-
LONG ISLAND SOUND EAST OF NEW HAVEN CT/PORT JEFFERSON NY-
LONG ISLAND SOUND WEST OF NEW HAVEN CT/PORT JEFFERSON NY-
NEW YORK HARBOR-PECONIC AND GARDINERS BAYS-
SOUTH SHORE BAYS FROM JONES INLET THROUGH SHINNECOCK BAY-
MORICHES INLET NY TO MONTAUK POINT NY OUT 20 NM-
FIRE ISLAND INLET NY TO MORICHES INLET NY OUT 20 NM-
SANDY HOOK NJ TO FIRE ISLAND INLET NY OUT 20 NM-
344 PM EST FRI JAN 20 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL WATERS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME THAT WOULD MEET
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WARNING CRITERIA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

&&

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK PROVIDES A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL
WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER EVENTS THAT MAY REACH NWS WARNING
CRITERIA. MOST LONG FUSED NWS WATCHES...WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES IN
EFFECT ARE HIGHLIGHTED.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST NWS FORECASTS FOR WEATHER NOT MEETING NWS
WARNING CRITERIA.

JMC

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Rockland

When
January 21, 2:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Rockland forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
41.152, -74.024 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Between 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across Rockland County by Saturday afternoon, with Tallman reporting 7.0 inches.

Heavy Snow, Northern Westchester

When
January 21, 2:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Westchester forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
41.152, -73.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Between 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across Northern Westchester County by Saturday afternoon, with Chappaqua reporting 7.0 inches.

Heavy Snow, Southern Westchester

When
January 21, 2:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Westchester forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
41.152, -73.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Between 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across Southern Westchester County by Saturday afternoon, with Yonkers reporting 6.1 inches.

Heavy Snow, Northeast Suffolk

When
January 21, 4:30 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Northeast Suffolk forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Between 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across Northeast Suffolk County by Saturday afternoon, with Orient reporting 7.2 inches.

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 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, January 2012

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: 361728, 361729, 361730, 361731.