Winter Storm, Fulton
- When
- March 25, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Fulton forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Illinois, March 25, 2002
Snowfall totals of 2 to 4 inches, along with significant blowing and drifting snow, created near whiteout conditions in Peoria, Woodford, northern Tazewell and northwest McLean counties the morning of the 25th. Numerous accidents occurred as a result of the snow covered roads and decreased visibility.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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.
Snowfall totals of 2 to 4 inches, along with significant blowing and drifting snow, created near whiteout conditions in Peoria, Woodford, northern Tazewell and northwest McLean counties the morning of the 25th. Numerous accidents occurred as a result of the snow covered roads and decreased visibility. Northern parts of Fulton county reported one-half inch of sleet, mixed with freezing rain. Ice accumulations around one-quarter inch were observed at the ASOS in Champaign.
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 25, 3:20 AM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 25, 3:20 AM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 320 AM CST MON MAR 25 2002 WITH A LOT GOING ON WX WISE...AFD WILL BE RATHER SHORT TONIGHT. STILL SOME DISCREPANCY AMONGST THE MODELS FOR TYPE AND AMOUNT OF PCPN NEXT 36 HOURS. SNOW SLOW TO DEVELOP IN WARNING AREA WITH ONLY AN INCH AND A HALF REPORTED IN BMI AS OF 230 AM...SO WILL DOWNGRADE WARNING TO AN ADVISORY FOR THIS MORNING. AREAS NORTH OF A SCHUYLER TO MCLEAN COUNTY LINE WILL SEE 2 TO 4 INCHES AND LESSER AMOUNTS TO THE SOUTH. HAVE SEEN SOME DECENT AMOUNTS OF SLEET AND SNOW IN AREAS FROM SPI TO CMI EARLY THIS MORNING...SO 1 TO 3 INCHES STILL A GOOD BET. PCPN TO TAPER OFF BY AFTERNOON FOR A BRIEF 6 TO 12 HOUR BREAK IN SOME LOCATIONS. HOWEVER...NEXT STRONG S/W TO APPROACH C IL BY THIS EVENING WITH PCPN DEVELOPING OVER SRN HALF OF CWA BY 9 PM. AS TO TYPE OF PCPN...IT WILL BE A MIXED BAG ONCE AGAIN. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS SHOW ALL SNOW IN NRN SECTIONS OF CWA...SCHUYLER TO MCLEAN COUNTIES AND NORTH. MEANWHILE...CENTRAL SECTIONS TO BEGIN AS SOME LIGHT RAIN...CHANGING TO LIGHT FREEZING RAIN...THEN TO SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. ETA TOO HIGH ON SNOW AMOUNTS...SO WILL GO CLOSE TO AVN AMOUNTS WITH THIS SYSTEM. WITH A MIXED BAG OF PCPN IN CENTRAL SECTIONS...WILL GO WITH A WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT THRU TUESDAY MORNING. EXPECT 2 TO 4 INCHES OVER WRN SECTIONS...JAX...SPI...ILX...DEC...WITH 3 TO 5 IN AREAS FROM CMI TO TAYLORVILLE. MAIN CONCERN TONIGHT WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF FZRA OVER AREAS FROM SHELBYVILLE TO PARIS...SO WILL PUT THEM IN ADVISORY AREA AS WELL. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THE ISOLATED AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN THAT HAVE FALLEN OVER THE SERN ZONES. CAN STILL EXPECT SOME RAIN TODAY AND ANOTHER SHOT TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY...SO WILL CONTINUE FLOOD WATCH FOR THIS AREA AS WELL INTO TUESDAY MORNING. PCPN ON TUESDAY WILL END BY AFTERNOON...SO REMOVED EVENING MENTION OF SNOW ON TUESDAY NIGHT. DRY WEATHER TO PERSIST INTO THURSDAY. NO MAJOR CHANGES TO EXTENDED AT THIS TIME WITH NEXT WX SYSTEM TO AFFECT AREA ON FRIDAY. THANKS TO DVN...LOT...LSX...AND IND. ...PRELIMINARY CCF FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES... SPI SO 036/026 037/024 043 68+85 PIA SS 034/024 036/022 042 68+74 DEC SO 036/026 037/024 043 68+85 CMI SS 035/026 035/022 041 68+97 MTO OO 036/029 038/024 044 68+97 LWV RR 043/035 044/028 047 68++8 .ILX...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS MORNING ILZ027>031 -036>038-040>053-055 FLOOD WATCH TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING REMAINDER OF ILX COUNTIES ILZ054-056-057-061>063-066>068-071>073 WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY FOR ILZ042>057-061>063 BYRD
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Champaign
- When
- March 25, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Champaign forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.140, -88.199 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, McLean
- When
- March 25, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- McLean forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 40.491, -88.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Peoria
- When
- March 25, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Peoria forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.788, -89.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Tazewell
- When
- March 25, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Tazewell forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.508, -89.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Woodford
- When
- March 25, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Woodford forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.788, -89.211 (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
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, March 25, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Texas, March 25, 2002
- Hail in Texas, March 25, 2002
- Winter Storm in Indiana, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Winter Storm in Missouri, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Hail in Oklahoma, March 25, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Texas, March 25, 2002
- Hail in Oklahoma, March 25, 2002
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Hail in Arkansas, March 25, 2002
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5286843, 5286844, 5286845, 5286846, 5286847, 5286848.