1 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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 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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 4, 4:00 AM CST, 0 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
400 AM CST WED DEC 4 2002
SGFNT WINTER STORM DVLPG...HAVE ENHANCED FCSTS TO BRING WINTER STORM
WRNGS NWD INTO EXTRM SRN PTNS CWA WITH WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR NEXT
TIER OF ZONES. HAVE A TWO-PHASE WX PRODUCER AS VORT MAX SLIEES EWD
JUST TO THE S OF AREA. LOOK FOR FIRST BURST OF SNOW EARLY THIS
MORNING UNTIL DRY LN WRAPS NEWD ACRS AREA...THEN DEFORMATION SNOW
THIS AFTN AND TNGT AS VORT MAX SWEEPS EWD.
NGM TEMP GUIDANCE NOT TOO BAD...AVN TOO COLD AS USUAL...HWVR DID GO
WELL BELOW GUID TMW NGT AS NEW SNOW COVER AND CLR SKIES ALLOW SGFNT
RADIATIONAL COOLING...PROBABLY DID NOT GO COLD ENUF IN HEAVY SNOW
COVER AREAS...WENT FOR 10 ABOVE...BUT CAN LOOK AT THAT TMW AGAIN.
.STL...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR REYNOLDS...IRON...AND MADISON
COUNTIES IN MISSOURI THROUGH MIDNIGHT.
WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR RANDOLPH COUNTY IN ILLINOIS AND
CRAWFORD...WASHINGTON...ST. FRANCOIS...AND STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTIES
IN MISSOURI THROUGH MIDNIGHT.
PEDIGOILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-034>036 -041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-040100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 400 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002 THIS OUTLOOK COVERS CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT FOR IRON...MADISON AND REYNOLDS COUNTIES IN MISSOURI. SNOW ASSOCIATED WITH A STORM SYSTEM OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS STATES WILL SPREAD INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY WEDNESDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. TOTAL ACCUMULATION OF 3 TO 6 INCHES IS EXPECTED BEFORE THE SNOW ENDS WEDNESDAY EVENING. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO THE WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN ST LOUIS. BRITT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
The first winter storm of the season hit the area dropping 3 to 6 inches of snow. With temperatures in the middle 20s, the snow immediately began to accumulate on area roads as it started to fall about 4 am. Most area schools had to close as travel became very hazardous.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 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: 5324844.