Winter Storm in Illinois, March 1 to 3, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Illinois, March 1 to 3, 2002
Start: 2002-03-01T17:00
End: 2002-03-03T04:00
Location: Illinois

March 1 to 3, 2002 · NWS DVN · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

March roared in like a lion. A late season winter storm gathered strength as it moved from the Southern Plains into the Lower Ohio Valley.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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 DVN wrote it up.

March roared in like a lion. A late season winter storm gathered strength as it moved from the Southern Plains into the Lower Ohio Valley. Just days earlier an arctic front blew through the region sending temperatures plummeting. As the storm system approached, low level southerly winds pumped abundant gulf moisture up and over this shallow cold airmass, resulting in heavy snow. Storm total accumulations ranged from 3 to 8 inches, with the heaviest occurring mainly north of Highway 34. Warmer air also surged northward, resulting in the snow changing to rain or a mixture of rain and sleet for a while south of Highway 34, reducing storm total accumulations in this area. Slippery roads lead to numerous minor traffic accidents. Also, the snow forced postponement or cancellation of many events. As the storm system began to depart late Saturday, strong northwest winds on the backside enveloped the region sending wind chills plummeting into the single digits and teens below zero. Blowing and drifting snow was also reported.

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 1:25 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 1:25 PM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
125 PM CST FRI MAR 1 2002

MARCH COMING IN LIKE LION WITH POWERFUL WINTER STORM BEARING DOWN ON
REGION.

WILL BE CONCISE...HITTING MAIN POINTS TO ALLOW STAYING CLOSE TO
DEADLINES.

*SHARP BAROCLINIC ZONE WITH POTENT SHORTWAVE TROUGH RIDING
ALONG WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF MOISTURE.

*FORCING AND NICE MOISTURE TRANSPORT WITH SYSTEM WILL RESULT IN
HEAVY SNOW ENTIRE REGION THROUGH SAT. DIFFICULT PINPOINTING WHERE HIGHEST
TOTALS WILL OCCUR SINCE WIDESPREAD.

*POTENTIAL FOR MIX IN FAR SOUTH TONIGHT...NEAR KEOKUK-MACOMB LINE.

*WIDESPREAD SNOW AMOUNTS OF 8-12 INCHES EXPECTED...WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS
OF NEAR 14 INCHES POSSIBLE.

*STRENGTHENING PRESSURE GRADIENT LATE TONIGHT AND SAT TO RESULT IN
WINDY CONDITIONS...WITH CONSIDERABLE BLOWING/DRIFTING OF
FLUFFY SNOW. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE...WITH
NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.

*SYSTEM SHIFTS EAST SAT EVE WITH ARCTIC AIR PLUNGING INTO REGION ON
BACKSIDE. WILL SEE COLDEST TEMPERATURES THIS WINTER SEASON
SAT NIGHT INTO MON...WITH SNOW COVER ALLOWING READINGS TO DIP BELOW
ZERO AT NIGHT...WHILE DAYTIME HIGHS STRUGGLE THROUGH THE SINGLE
DIGITS.

*IMPACTS OF WINTER STORM WILL BE MOST POWERFUL SINCE 1999 NEW YEARS
STORM.

EXTENDED (TUE-FRI)
MODELS INDICATING NEARLY ZONAL UPPER FLOW THROUGH EXTENDED PERIOD
WITH TIMING OF SYSTEMS CHALLENGING. EXTENSIVE SNOW COVER WILL
TEMPER WARMING. PCPN CHCS THROUGHOUT MUCH OF EXTENDED FOR MAINLY SEVERAL
LIGHT PCPN EVENTS. LATER SHIFTS CAN REFINE TIMING.

COORD WITH ARX...ILX...THANX

.DVN...
IA...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY ALL OF EASTERN IOWA.
IL...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL
ILLINOIS.
MO...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY EXTREME NORTHEAST
MISSOURI.

MCCLURE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Bureau

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Bureau forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.404, -89.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Carroll

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.069, -89.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Henderson

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.818, -90.925 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Henry

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.353, -90.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jo Daviess

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Jo Daviess forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.366, -90.212 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McDonough

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: McDonough forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.456, -90.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Mercer

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.205, -90.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Putnam

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.205, -89.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rock Island

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Rock Island forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.467, -90.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stephenson

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Stephenson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.352, -89.662 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.849, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Whiteside

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Whiteside forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.756, -89.914 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hancock

When: March 1, 5:00 PM CST to March 3, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.404, -91.165 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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: 5285542, 5285543, 5285544, 5285545, 5285546, 5285547, 5285548, 5285549, 5285550, 5285551, 5285552, 5285613, 5285614.