A Heavy Snow Warning was issued for California zones CAZ080/082 at 0540 PST on 03/09/02 and expired at 1445 PST on 03/10/02. The above report was the only one received that verified the warning.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MFR wrote it up.
A Heavy Snow Warning was issued for California zones CAZ080/082 at 0540 PST on 03/09/02 and expired at 1445 PST on 03/10/02. The above report was the only one received that verified the warning.
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 Medford, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 10, 8:30 AM PST, 0 minutes earlier.
SOUTHWEST OREGON/NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD OR
830 AM PST SUN MAR 10 2002
12Z ETA/NGM IN. 12Z AVN IN THROUGH 48HR.
PLENTY OF SNOW FROM THE CASCADES EAST THIS MORNING...BUT NOT NEARLY
AS MUCH AS EXPECTED OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL SISKIYOU COUNTY.
STILL...MT SHASTA SKI PARK STILL GOT 11 INCHES LAST NIGHT.
A PROGRESSIVE PATTERN REMAINS IN PLACE OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA/
SOUTHERN OREGON.
TODAY...AN UPPER TROUGH IS NOW MOVING ONSHORE AND WILL PROGRESS TO
THE EAST OF THE MFR FORECAST AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON. THE FRONT
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TROUGH WILL MOVE ONSHORE IN THE NEXT SEVERAL
HOURS...BUT IT IS FALLING APART AS IT DOES SO SINCE UPSTREAM
AMPLIFICATION IS CUTTING OFF ITS COLD AIR SOURCE. WILL WAIT UNTIL
THE SYSTEM MOVES ONSHORE BEFORE MAKING ADJUSTMENTS. SNOW LEVEL WILL
START OFF AROUND 3500 FEET AND RISE TO 5000 FEET BY TONIGHT.
TONIGHT...THE TRAILING RIDGE WILL MOVE ON THROUGH TONIGHT. PLENTY OF
WARM ADVECTION AT LOW LEVELS WILL KEEP SOME CLOUDS AND LIGHT
PRECIPITATION AROUND THE FORECAST AREA. SNOW LEVELS WILL START OFF
AROUND 5000 FEET AND RISE TO 5500 FEET.
MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...THE NEXT UPSTREAM TROUGH WILL MOVE ONSHORE
LATE MONDAY NIGHT OR EARLY TUESDAY. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL
MOVE ONSHORE LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AS IT DOES SO IT
BECOMES PARALLEL TO THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW...WHICH WILL BE MOSTLY ZONAL
BY THAT TIME...SO EXPECT THE FRONT TO STALL MONDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER
THE UPPER TROUGH REAMPLIFIES OFFSHORE TUESDAY SO THIS SHOULD ACT TO
KICK THE FRONT FARTHER SOUTH AND EAST BY TUESDAY NIGHT. SNOW LEVELS
WILL MOVE UP TO 6000 FEET MONDAY...DROPPING TO 4000 FEET BEHIND THE
FRONT.
TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...FROM TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE
REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD AN UPPER TROUGH SETS UP CAMP ALONG
THE WEST COAST.
STOCKTON
.MFR...HIGH WIND WARNING.......ORZ021/022 HEADLANDS THIS MORNING.
WIND ADVISORY...........CAZ081 SHASTA VALLEY TODAY.
WINTER STORM WARNING....CAZ080/082 ABOVE 3500 FEET THRU
TONIGHT.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.ORZ025/027/030/CAZ083 TODAY.
GALE WARNING............COASTAL WATERS FROM FLORENCE OR TO
POINT ST GEORGE CA.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Mt. Shasta Ski Park reported 11 inches of snow overnight.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in California, March 2002
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: 5281364.