23 Years Ago: Christmas 2002 Blizzard

It's not that often we see a region wide legitimate snowstorm on Christmas Day. But that's exactly what happened, 23 years ago today. A classic strong nor'easter brought heavy snow, sleet, rain and wind to much of the Northeast. Several inches of snow fell from New York City to Boston with over a foot well to the north. Since this storm there's only been one other Christmas snowfall to impact a part of New England, though of much lesser intensity.

As is the case with many of these nor'easters, low pressure began forming off the Delmarva Peninsula on early Christmas morning and hugged the coast as it moved north-northeast. Light snow spread across the Tri-State Area and Southern New England which then changed over to rain and sleet. As the system gained strength, colder air began funneling in from the north and slowly changed mixed precipitation over to all snow during the evening and night. Most areas along the coast saw most of the accumulation after dark. Snow accumulated quickly and winds increased from the north-northwest.

After midnight the storm began pulling away and light snow tapered off mainly before sunrise on the 26th. When all was said and done the storm dumped a wide swath of 12-24" across southern New Hampshire, Vermont and Upstate New York. Most of the area from Southern New England down into the Tri-State saw a general 4-12" with less than 4" in the southeastern portions.

If you would like to take a look at more images and snowfall maps related to this storm, see it in our archive here: December 25-26th, 2002 Blizzard.

-JDJ