January 2002 1st-5th…

 

JANUARY 2002

 

1^st-5^th…The Great Lakes region received less-intense snowfall Tuesday than it has in the past week, and several other regions had scattered snows. Snows fell from Michigan to central New York, and isolated snow showers were found in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa. A cold front didn't have enough moisture to produce much snow further east, but did bring temperatures in the teens to upper New England. Snow showers were widely scattered across parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle. Other snows fell over west-central Texas, while a mix of rain and snow fell over middle Texas and northern Louisiana. The West Coast had heavy cloud cover, and rains fell from western Washington through central California. A light mix of rain and snow was spreading toward central Washington and central Oregon and Nevada.

A winter storm that dumped a foot of snow on parts of North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia tapered off Friday afternoon but the freezing temperatures remained, bringing record lows to Florida. The mercury in Orlando, FL, dipped to 31°F.

In the East, clouds moved into Michigan, much of New York, Pennsylvania and western New England. Scattered snow showers and flurries edged toward Vermont. The rest of the eastern United States the Ohio Valley, Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast was generally dry and fair. Clouds spread through the central and southern Plains into Texas. A few clouds also drifted over Missouri and western Arkansas. Scattered rain showers were found over western Texas. A mix of rain and snow was reported over the Dakotas, northwestern Minnesota and western Nebraska, extending through eastern Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and northern and eastern New Mexico. In the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies, skies were mostly cloudy. Isolated showers were found near the Pacific Northwest coast. In California, fog rolled in over Bakersfield, Sacramento and Avalon. The remainder of the state was dry and partly cloudy to fair.

 

6^th-12^th…Mostly light rain and snow showers moved across the Northeast on Wednesday, and a few isolated showers rolled through the mountains of the West. Bands of snow showers moved quickly from the Ohio Valley through the Appalachians into the mid-Atlantic states and northern New England during the morning and afternoon. Warmer air moving up from the south turned the precipitation to light rain and freezing rain from New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania through southeastern New York into southern sections of New England. A few areas of rain and freezing rain showers also spread eastward across the upper Great Lakes. Farther south, chilly air extended into the Southeast, dropping temperatures to a low of 24°F at Tallahassee, FL, and 25°F at Crestview in Florida's western Panhandle. In the West, a few snow flurries were scattered in the mountains of western Montana, Wyoming and northern sections of Utah and Colorado.

 

13^th-19^th…A storm system dropped several inches of snow on the Great Lakes region Monday and sent scattered rain across the Northeast. Heavy rain also drenched parts of the Southeast. Up to 8 inches of snow were forecast for parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, with lesser amounts expected in western New York and some sections of New England. Rain was forecast across much of the Northeast and into the mid-Atlantic states. In the Southeast, rain stretched from the Mississippi Delta into North Carolina, with the heaviest amounts in Georgia, southeast Alabama and Florida, where 1.5 inches fell at Apalachicola. Widely scattered snow fell across the Northern Plains and a storm system brought scattered rain and mountain snow to the Northwest. Most of the West, Southwest, southern Plains and Gulf Coast remained dry.

Light snow fell across a wide area of the Midwest on Wednesday, and a few isolated snow showers were scattered across the West. A weak weather system gathering strength over the center of the nation was responsible for the snow in the Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley and Great Lakes states. As the system moved eastward, snow fell across southern Minnesota, Iowa, northern Missouri, southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and much of Michigan. By late afternoon, snow also extended across Indiana and Ohio into sections of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. To the east, a few snow showers moved across New York state and northern Maine. Snow also was scattered over other sections of New England during the morning, but had mostly stopped by late afternoon. Light snow was possible in New England again during the night. In the western half of the nation, a weak system produced showers around Washington's Puget Sound, plus snow showers from eastern Washington into northern Idaho and in parts of Montana. Another weak disturbance generated snow showers in southern sections of Utah and Colorado, northern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. Light rain fell on parts of southeastern Arizona.

Rain and snow stretched from Texas to New England on Saturday, drenching Alabama and making highways slippery in the Appalachians. Rain fell from eastern Texas through Louisiana and Arkansas into Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, northern sections of Georgia and South Carolina, and North Carolina. Alabaster, AL, reported more than 3 inches of rain by early afternoon, and more than 2 inches fell in parts of Mississippi. Farther north, the precipitation changed to snow across the Ohio Valley, and moved eastward during the day from Ohio and Kentucky into West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and New York state. Up to a foot of snow fell in parts of eastern Kentucky. By late afternoon, light snow also had started falling in the New York City area and was edging into southern sections of New England. Around the Great Lakes, snow showers were scattered in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. In the West, a few light showers were scattered along the coast from northern California into Washington. Snow showers were scattered at higher elevations of northern California and Nevada, eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho and western Montana.

Light snow also fell over parts of eastern Montana.

 

20^th-26^th…A low pressure system brought mild temperatures and thunderstorms to the Southeast on Monday afternoon. Heavy showers drenched southern Georgia with most locations picking up an inch of rain. Northern Florida was also soaked with Tallahassee reporting 1.69 inches of rain. Rain swept across eastern sections of the Carolinas and Virginia but showers tapered off late in the afternoon. Snow continued across northern New York, Vermont and New England. The Ohio and Tennessee Valley reported partly cloudy skies. The Northern Plains, the upper Midwest and the upper Great lakes saw cloudy skies along with light snow showers. Across the lower Midwest and into the Central and Southern Plains, clear to partly cloudy skies were reported along with mild temperatures. The West experienced moderate to heavy rain over western Washington, western Oregon and northern California. Light to moderate snow fell in the mountain ranges. Fair skies were seen throughout southern California.

A powerful storm system drenched parts of the South with more than 3 inches of rain Wednesday, swamping roads. Light snow fell on New England, the Rockies and parts of the Great Lakes. Flash flood warnings were posted for more than two dozen Tennessee counties. Crossville received 3.3 inches and Oak Ridge 2.8 inches. The storm also brought heavy rain to Alabama and North Carolina. Lighter showers spread across parts of Oklahoma and Texas. In the West, snow fell in the northern Rockies and rain fell along the coasts of Washington and Oregon. Scattered snow flurries were reported over the northern Great Lakes, northern Plains and parts of upstate New York and Maine. The Southeast and Southwest were generally dry.

A cold front moved off the Georgia coast Friday, taking with it the severe weather that swept through Tennessee, northern Alabama and Kentucky the day before. The Northwest and the northern Rocky Mountains saw moderate rain and snows. Tennessee began drying out Friday after some areas reported receiving as much as 8 inches of rain Wednesday and Thursday, swamping roads, sending creeks overflowing and forcing schools to close. Most areas of the Southeast received between one-quarter and one-half of an inch of rain. A storm system over western Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana dropped anywhere from a trace to an inch of rain, while more than 2 inches of rain fell in Newport, OR. Some mountain passes picked up as much as 5 inches of snow Friday. A front across the northern Great Lakes brought widely scattered light snow to northeastern Wisconsin, Michigan's upper peninsula and the western part of Michigan. High pressure over the Plains region left behind partly to mostly sunny skies. Partly to mostly cloudy skies remained over the Northeast.

 

27^th-31^st…Snow piled up in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and closed down schools in California on Monday while unseasonably warm temperatures spread across the Northeast. A blast of cold spread snow across Northern California and parts of Nevada. Schools were closed in California's Sonoma County and the snow on San Francisco's Twin Peaks was the first seen since 1998. The storm blew into northern Nevada, producing blizzard-like conditions and leaving up to 20 inches of snow in some mountain areas. Snow that left more than a foot on parts of western Washington tapered off. In the East, high pressure sent the mercury climbing from the Ohio and Tennessee valleys into southern New England. Highs were forecast some 20 degrees above normal in some cities, including New York. Elsewhere, scattered snow that pushed across the northern Plains was followed by bitter cold up to 20 degrees below normal in some places, including parts of North Dakota and Montana. The rest of the country including the Southeast, central and southern Plains, and mid-Atlantic states saw dry and generally mild conditions. There was light rain and mountain snow in the Southwest.

A massive band of winter storms brought snow, freezing rain and damaging ice storms to states stretching from the Texas panhandle to parts of New England, while the rest of the nation saw mostly scattered rains and cooler temperatures.

In parts of Oklahoma, everything was covered in a heavy coat of ice, causing trees to split and fall on roads and power lines. Over the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast, high pressure remained in control, where clear to partly cloudy skies were reported. Parts of the Northeast enjoyed unseasonably warm weather for one more day Wednesday as temperatures in the 50s were expected to finally yield to the approaching cold front overnight. The tail end of the front produced snow showers over the Rockies, and another, weaker system was pushing through the Desert Southwest, causing rain and mountain snow showers over portions of Arizona and New Mexico. Another front pushed into the Pacific Northwest, spreading rain and mountain snow over Washington and Oregon.