A moist Pacific storm system impacted north central Idaho with heavy snow. 24 hour snowfall amounts ranged from 7 inches at Elk River and 8 inches at Pierce, to 10 inches at Savage Pass and Hemlock Butte in the mountains.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 MSO wrote it up.
A moist Pacific storm system impacted north central Idaho with heavy snow. 24 hour snowfall amounts ranged from 7 inches at Elk River and 8 inches at Pierce, to 10 inches at Savage Pass and Hemlock Butte in the mountains.
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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 23, 8:45 PM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
845 PM MST SAT FEB 23 2002
.SHORT TERM...SNOW FALLING OVER MUCH OF CWA THIS EVENING AND
REACHING THE VALLEY FLOORS. WINDS STILL BLOWING GOOD IN THE NW
PORTION OF CWA. WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES LOOK ON TRACK WITH
SIGNIFICANT SNOWS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND ACCUMULATIONS IN THE VALLEYS.
ROADS HAVE BECOME HAZARDOUS THROUGH MUCH OF THE MISSOULA VALLEY.
TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN A CONCERN THIS EVENING. BUTTE ALREADY HAS BEEN
DOWN TO FCST LOW SO WILL BUMP DOWN A BIT. HEAVY SNOWS SHOULD
CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL MONTANA INTO SUNDAY MORNING. SNOW
SHOULD TAPER OFF SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS DRIER FLOW MOVES INTO MT. COLD
ARCTIC AIRMASS...CLEARING SKIES AND NEW SNOWFALL WILL BRING THE
COLDEST TEMPS TO MUCH OF CWA MONDAY NIGHT. WILL UPDATE ZONES TO TWEAK
TEMPS IN SOME LOCATIONS AND WORDING...WILL NOT UPDATE SFP. KPB
.MSO...HEAVY SNOW WARNING TONIGHT AND SUNDAY MTZ004-006-007-043 AND
IDZ005-006...
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT MTZ002-003-005...
...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EBC 016/029 004/026 002/028 28740004
EEBC 016/033 019/035 021/037 023/039 3322331122
FCA EBC 012/027 902/025 905/027 28+50004
EEBC 014/031 017/033 019/035 021/038 3332332122
POL EBC 018/030 010/028 008/029 28+50004
EEEC 018/033 019/035 021/036 023/039 3332432222
MSO JBS 022/031 009/027 004/029 28+62005
EEEC 017/034 019/036 021/037 024/040 3333432222
HMM JBS 025/034 010/030 006/031 28962005
EEEC 017/035 020/038 023/039 024/042 3333333222
BTM JBC 012/023 908/019 918/022 28+83002
EEEC 005/028 006/032 008/035 011/038 3322232212
ORO JBS 033/040 024/038 022/038 28851005
EEEC 027/045 029/047 030/049 033/051 3342433222
GRV SBS 030/036 020/033 018/034 28860005
EEEC 024/041 024/043 025/044 028/048 3342433222
SMN JBC 025/030 009/021 903/023 28553003
EEEC 012/030 012/034 014/036 017/039 3332232112The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, February 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: 5282316, 5282317.