Moist jet stream winds from the west-southwest pointed directly into the Inland Northwest for most of the day on March 11, bringing heavy snow to the mountains of the Idaho panhandle, while valley locations below 4000 feet experienced mostly rain. 11".
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 OTX wrote it up.
Moist jet stream winds from the west-southwest pointed directly into the Inland Northwest for most of the day on March 11, bringing heavy snow to the mountains of the Idaho panhandle, while valley locations below 4000 feet experienced mostly rain. Snowfall totals with this storm include: Schweitzer Ski Area...14", Mica Creek SNOTEL...14", Lookout Pass Ski Area...13", Lookout SNOTEL...13", Bear Mountain SNOTEL...12", Mosquito Ridge SNOTEL...12", Humboldt SNOTEL...12", and the Sunset SNOTEL...11".
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 11, 2:45 AM PST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON...CORRECTION
245 AM PST MON MAR 11 2002
CORRECTED HEADLINES AT BOTTOM
IMPRESSIVE LATE WINTER STORM WITH LONG FETCH OF PACIFIC MOISTURE AND
130KT/300MB JET IN SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. SURFACE WARM FRONT AHEAD OF
THE SYSTEM ALREADY IN SOUTHWEST WA WITH MID LEVEL WARM AIR ADVECTION
CLOUDS MOVING INTO ERN WA AND THE PANHANDLE. BEST CHANCES OF
SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION IN THE PANHANDLE AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF
THE NORTH CASCADE MOUNTAINS ESPECIALLY NEAR THE CREST. CURRENTLY HAVE
WARNINGS OUT FOR THESE ZONES INTO THE EVENING HOURS TONIGHT. SNOW
LEVELS WILL VARY BETWEEN 4000 AND 5000 FEET. ONCE THE COLD FRONT SAGS
SOUTH SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP ABOUT 2000 FEET BY TUESDAY BUT WITH LESS
WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW
SHOWERS. LESS CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IN THE BASIN AND LOWER CASCADE
EAST SLOPE VALLEYS ESPECIALLY BY THIS EVENING.
WINDS WILL BE A FACTOR AS WELL THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING EAST OF THE
NORTHERN CASCADE CREST. JET CORE SAGS SOUTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON
IMPACTING THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS FIRST. MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW
DESTABILIZING AIR MASS NEAR THE CASCADES AND STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW.
SIMILAR PATTERNS HAVE PRODUCED STRONG WINDS IN THE MISSION RIDGE
VICINITY POSSIBLY ENHANCED BY SOME MOUNTAIN WAVE INFLUENCE OFF THE
CASCADE CREST. WILL HAVE A HIGH WIND WARNING WITH SUSTAINED WINDS
AROUND 50KT GUSTING TO 70 MPH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AGAIN THIS
CAN BE FAIRLY LOCALIZED EAST OF THE CASCADE CREST AND IN THE
MOUNTAINS. VALLEYS WILL ONLY SEE A FRACTION OF THESE WINDS DUE TO THE
ORIENTATION OF THE FLOW. DONT EXPECT NORTHEAST WA MTNS OR PANHANDLE
TO HAVE AS MUCH PROBLEM DUE TO LATER EVENING/NIGHTTIME FRONTAL
PASSAGE AND POTENTIALLY LESS MIXING.
WINDS AND PRECIPITATION TO DIMINISH BY TUESDAY WITH REGION IN COOLER
UNSTABLE WEST FLOW PRODUCING SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY THESE PERIODS. TC
.EXTENDED...AS PER LATEST MRF LOW DROPS DOWN FROM NORTHWEST FLOW AND
KIND OF JUST SITS AND SPINS OVER THE AREA THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.
THIS IS IN AGREEMENT WITH EARLIER MRF RUN AND PREVIOUS FORECAST BASED
UPON IT SO THE THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY FORECAST REMAINS AN
UNCHANGED...BROAD BRUSHED...SOMEWHAT WET...AND SLIGHTLY COOL ONE.
...THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRODUCT CONCERNING WARNINGS AND FORECASTS
IS VALID ONLY AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE. THE LATEST WARNING AND
FORECAST INFORMATION WILL BE FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PRODUCTS...
GEG 050/034/046/032/043 99335
COE 048/033/045/031/043 +9435
PUW 051/035/047/033/045 98535
LWS 057/042/055/038/050 68333
CQV 047/031/046/033/044 97555
SPT 045/035/044/033/043 +8555
WWP 041/038/045/035/041 +8755
EAT 050/035/050/033/049 53111
MWH 053/036/054/034/051 44333
.OTX...WINTER STORM WARNING IN ID ZONES 1 AND 4 AND WA ZONE 42 FROM
TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING...
...HIGH WIND WARNING ABOVE 3000 FEET EAST SLOPE NORTHERN
CASCADES WA ZONE 42...The 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, 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: 5287244, 5287245.