A late-season arctic cold front moved south through the Idaho panhandle from late on the afternoon of the 5th through the 6th. Moist air overran the dome of cold air and brought heavy snow to much of the panhandle, excluding Boundary County.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
A late-season arctic cold front moved south through the Idaho panhandle from late on the afternoon of the 5th through the 6th. Moist air overran the dome of cold air and brought heavy snow to much of the panhandle, excluding Boundary County. Even the bottom of the Lewiston-Clarkston valley received 1 to 2 inches of snow. Snowfall totals from the evening of the 5th through the morning of the 7th include: Lookout Pass Ski Area...15", Silver Mountain Ski Area...14", Saint Maries...8.5", Avery...8.5", Plummer...7", Wallace...6.5", Spirit Lake...6", Harrison...6", Winchester...5.7", Coeur D'Alene...5", Kellogg...4.5", Athol...4.4", Potlatch...4", and Nez Perce...4".
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 5, 9:01 PM PST, 59 minutes earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
830 PM PST TUE MAR 5 2002
THE SURFACE COLD FRONT PASSED THROUGH SPOKANE AROUND 6 PM AND LIES
JUST SOUTH OF I-90 FROM THE SILVER VALLEY OF NORTH IDAHO TO
RITZVILLE. THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION HAS BEEN BEHIND THE FRONT IN
THE CLASH OF THE AIR MASSES WHERE ANYWHERE FROM RAIN TO SLEET TO SNOW
HAS BEEN REPORTED. GUSTY NORTH WINDS CONTINUE TO FUNNEL DOWN THE
OKANOGAN VALLEY...ALONG WITH DRIER AIR WITH DEWPOINTS ALREADY IN THE
SINGLE DIGITS SPILLING OVER THE WATERVILLE PLATEAU INTO THE WRN
BASIN. IN THE PURCELL TRENCH...THE WINDS HAVE ALSO KICKED IN BUT
LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUE WITH LOCAL 1 INCH REPORTS AT BONNERS
FERRY IN ADDITION TO EASTERLY SLOP OVER NEAR THE BITTERROOT CREST.
THE WARM GROUND ON THE VALLEY FLOORS IS SLOWING ANY SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS. THE MESO ETA SHOW THE SNOW TO BE TAPERING OFF ACROSS
FAR NORTH IDAHO BY 9Z AS THE DRIER AIR FILTERS IN. WILL UP THE SNOW
AMOUNTS FOR FAR NORTH IDAHO OVERNIGHT...BUT DISPENSE FROM ANY
HIGHLIGHTS.
THE FRONT WILL SLOW OVERNIGHT AND LOOKS AS IF IT WILL GET CAUGHT OVER
THE SRN BASIN AND PALOUSE...NOT FAR FROM IT PRESENT POSITION. RADAR
MOSAIC SHOWS PRECIPITATION ALREADY SPREADING ALONG THE WRN TAIL OF
THIS BOUNDARY ACROSS NRN OREGON. THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A MOIST
PACIFIC SYSTEM MOVING ONTO THE OREGON COAST. WILL SEE THE OVERUNNING
PATTERN CONTINUE WITH MAINLY SNOW INCREASES ALONG THE STALLED
BOUNDARY LATE TONIGHT AND INTO WEDNESDAY. ONCE THE GROUND COOLS...THE
CAMAS PRAIRIE STANDS A GOOD SHOT OF SNOW ON WEDNESDAY. CURRENT
HIGHLIGHTS LOOK GOOD AND WILL JUST REFRESH ZONES TO ADJUST WINDS AND
SNOW AMOUNTS. RFOX.
...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 020/027/020/032/019/033 375433
COE 018/025/018/030/018/031 576433
PUW 028/033/023/034/022/035 ++5433
LWS 035/044/031/041/030/042 894433
CQV 021/029/017/035/018/036 365533
SPT 017/024/014/028/015/030 665544
WWP 025/030/022/030/019/031 885544
EAT 030/035/025/039/026/040 365422
MWH 027/034/024/042/025/042 465422
.OTX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR CENTRAL
PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS...IDAHO PALOUSE...WASHINGTON PALOUSE.
WINTER STORM WATCH WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY MORNING BLUE
MOUNTAINS.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 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: 5287235, 5287236, 5287238, 5287237, 5287239.