Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 1 to 3, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Illinois, March 1 to 3, 2002
Start: 2002-03-01T17:00
End: 2002-03-03T00:00
Location: Illinois

March 1 to 3, 2002 · NWS ILX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Snowfall totals of 6 to 8 inches were measured in the central Illinois counties along and west of the Illinois River from early in the evening on the 1st through the 2nd. Strong northwest winds, with gusts approaching 40 mph produced signficant blowing and drifting snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 3:10 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 3:10 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
310 PM CST FRI MAR 1 2002

MODELS HAVE COME INTO PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE EVOLUTION OF THE
APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM. THEY ALL HAVE BEEN TRENDING SLOWER FOR THE
PAST COUPLE OF DAYS...SO PREFER THE SLOWER AVN ALTHOUGH ITS NOT TOO
DIFFERENT FROM THE ETA. SNOW EXPECTED TO INCREASE NORTH OF SURFACE
TROUGH WHICH LIES EAST/WEST NEAR SPI. NORTHWESTERN ZONES STILL LOOK
IN LINE FOR SOME HEAVY SNOW OVERNIGHT...HOWEVER ANY SNOW THAT FALLS
IN THE SPI/BMI/CMI AREAS WILL LIKELY CHANGE TO RAIN IN TIME TO
PREVENT ANY SIGNIFICANT EVENING ACCUMULATIONS. IN FACT...THE AIRMASS
IS STILL FAIRLY DRY...SO IT MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO WARM UP ENOUGH FOR
RAIN BY THE TIME PRECIPITATION STARTS.

RAIN AND SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES
THROUGH. ONCE AGAIN..BECAUSE OF THE SLOWER MOVEMENT...IT WILL
PROBABLY BE AFTERNOON IN CENTRAL SECTIONS BEFORE THE RAIN CAN CHANGE
TO SNOW BEHIND THE FRONT. EASTERN AREAS WILL CHANGE OVER LATE.
THEREFORE WILL ADJUST HEADLINES TO ACCOUNT FOR THE SLOWER TIMING. A
SURFACE WAVE IS PROGGED TO MOVE NORTHEAST ALONG THE FRONT SATURDAY
EVENING...WHICH WILL ENHANCE THE SNOW OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN
SECTIONS. THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO KICK OUT OF THE AREA EARLY
SUNDAY...BUT A VERY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT BEHIND THE DEPARTING LOW
WILL RESULT IN LOTS OF DRIFTING SNOW. A FEW FLURRIES MAY LINGER
SUNDAY IN THE COLD CYCLONIC FLOW. VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL COME
IN BEHIND THE FRONT SATURDAY NIGHT...AND THE COLD ADVECTION
CONTINUES INTO THE DAY SUNDAY. TEMPERATURES ON SUNDAY WILL PROBABLY
HAVE A TOUGH TIME RISING UNDER CLOUDY SKIES AND STRONG NORTH WINDS.
TEMPERATURES WILL THEN PLUNGE INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS SUNDAY NIGHT.

WEATHER WILL SLOWLY MODERATE EARLY NEXT WEEK...ALTHOUGH SNOW COVER
WILL IMPEDE THE WARMUP SOMEWHAT. THE NEXT FRONT IS STILL SLATED FOR
WEDNESDAY NIGHT..AND THE MRF LINGERS IT OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE
END OF THE WEEK.    ..04..

SPI OM 033/036 011/017 005 04+++
PIA SM 029/030 009/012 000 04+++
DEC OM 033/036 011/017 005 04+++
CMI OM 033/038 012/016 005 04+++
MTO OM 033/038 012/016 005 04+++
LWV RM 040/046 018/022 010 047++

.ILX...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT THRU SAT NGT ZNS 27>31..36>37..40.
       WINTER STORM WATCH SAT AFTN AND SAT NGT ZNS 38..41>43..
       47>53..61.
       WINTER STORM WATCH SAT NGT ZNS 44>46..54>57..62>63.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 1, 11:00 AM CST, 6 hours before

ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-011800-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1100 AM CST FRI MAR 1 2002

...WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WATCHES POSTED...

A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL AFFECT NORTH CENTRAL AND PARTS OF
SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS BEGINNING TONIGHT AND THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.

HEAVY SNOW WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER
THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY. A WINTER STORM WARNING
HAS BEEN POSTED FOR THIS AREA TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT WHERE
SNOWFALL TOTALS WILL LIKELY RANGE FROM 6 TO 12 INCHES. CONSIDERABLE
BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL DEVELOP BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

FURTHER SOUTH...A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
LOCATIONS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 FOR SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT.
THIS AREA WILL SEE A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW TONIGHT...CHANGING TO ALL
SNOW SATURDAY WITH ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES POSSIBLE.

SLIGHT VARIATIONS IN THE EXACT TRACK ON THIS SYSTEM WILL CAUSE
DIFFERENCES IN THE LOCATION OF THE HEAVY SNOWFALL. PEOPLE ACROSS
CENTRAL ILLINOIS SHOULD STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR
LOCAL MEDIA FOR UPDATES ON THIS MAJOR WINTER STORM.

EH

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Knox

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fulton

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marshall

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.033, -89.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mason

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Mason forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.240, -89.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Peoria

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Peoria forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.788, -89.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Schuyler

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Schuyler forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.158, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Stark

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.093, -89.797 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tazewell

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Tazewell forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.508, -89.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Woodford

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Woodford forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.788, -89.211 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, March 2002

Sources

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: 5286764, 5286765, 5286766, 5286767, 5286768, 5286769, 5286770, 5286771, 5286772.