Winter Storm in Indiana, February 26 to 27, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Indiana, February 26 to 27, 2002
Start: 2002-02-26T02:00
End: 2002-02-27T04:00
Location: Indiana

February 26 to 27, 2002 · NWS IWX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

11 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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: 11

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 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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 3:40 PM EST, 10 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 3:40 PM EST, 10 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
340 PM EST MON FEB 25 2002

SECOND AND STRONGER WAVE MOVG DOWN THE BACKSIDE OF THE TROF OVER THE
CENTRAL PLAINS WILL PREVENT MAIN SYSTEM FROM LIFTING RAPIDLY
NORTHEAST. 12Z NCEP MODELS HAVE INCREASED QPF FROM 00Z RUNS WITH AMTS
AROUND OR OVER 1.00 INCH. COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED EAST INTO FAR
NORTHEAST INDIANA AT 20Z WITH TEMP ALREADY DOWN TO 36 DEGREES AT
VPZ...SO COLD AIR WILL BE IN PLACE OVER NW INDIANA FOR BASICALLY AN
ALL-SNOW EVENT. WEAK SFC WAVE ALONG THE FRONT OVER ARKANSAS SHOULD
INTENSIFY RAPIDLY OVERNIGHT AS UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT ARRIVES WITH
STRONG VORT MAX ROUNDING BASE OF TROF. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WAS JUST
BELOW 850 MB AT 12Z...BUT SHOWED UP NICELY AT 925 MB. SFC DEW PTS IN
THE 50S AT 20Z OVER WESTERN TN SHOULD ADVECT NORTH AND PROVIDE
SUFFICIENT MOISTURE FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL.

PREFER THE ETA SOLUTION THE BEST FOR THIS SCENARIO. THE AVN APPEARS
TO LIFT THE SFC LOW TOO FAST AND MOVE THE PCPN OUT TOO QUICKLY GIVEN
ABOVE REASONING. THE NGM APPEARS TO HAVE A POOR HANDLE ON TEMPS
BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AND DOES NOT BRING IN THE COLD AIR FAST
ENOUGH. WILL THEREFORE AN ISSUE A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR COUNTIES
THAT HAD A WATCH EARLIER. WILL NOT ISSUE ANY HIGHLIGHTS FOR 5
COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST OHIO AS TEMPERATURES ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE
COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW UNTIL LATE TONIGHT. STILL TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY
AS TO HOW MUCH PCPN TUESDAY WILL FALL AS SNOW.

EXTENDED...
NOT MUCH TO CHANGE BASED ON NEW RUNS AND NCEP DISCO. STILL SOME
UNCERTAINTY FOR NEXT WEEKEND SO WILL KEEP A CHANCE FOR MIXED PRECIP
SUNDAY/MONDAY. TEMP WILL BE MORE LIKE WINTER THROUGH THE WEEK.

.IWX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT FAR NW
INDIANA AND SW LOWER MICH. WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONINGHT REST
OF NRN IND EXCEPT EXTREME SE CWA.

SKIP/RES

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Elkhart

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Elkhart forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.597, -85.859 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pulaski

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Pulaski forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.042, -86.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, White

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: White forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.750, -86.865 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cass

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.762, -86.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fulton

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.047, -86.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kosciusko

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Kosciusko forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Winter Storm, Noble

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Noble forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.399, -85.417 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lagrange

When: February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Lagrange forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.643, -85.426 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, La Porte

When: February 26, 4:00 PM EST to February 27, 4:00 AM EST
Where: La Porte forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Widespread moderate to heavy snow occurred across portions of northern Indiana. Much of the accumulation that occurred across the area were the result of synoptic snows in association with low pressure that moved through the lower Great Lakes/Ohio Valley. Total snowfall amounts from the area ranged from 6 to 12 inches. The heaviest snow fell in a narrow band covering much of Kosciusko county into extreme southwestern Noble county. A foot of snow was measured at the NWS in Syracuse, with 9 inches in Warsaw. In La Porte and St. Joseph counties, accumulations were a combination of synoptic and lake enhanced snow, with the majority of it falling during the evening of the 26th and early morning hours of the 27th. Accumulations generally ranged from 8 to 12 inches for the entire storm. The South Bend observing site recorded 16.7 inches of snow for the event, with the majority of this lake enhanced snow. Daily snowfall records for the 26th and 27th were broken in South Bend.

Winter Storm, St. Joseph

When: February 26, 4:00 PM EST to February 27, 4:00 AM EST
Where: St. Joseph forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Winter Storm, Marshall

When: February 26, 4:00 PM EST to February 27, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.325, -86.262 (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 Indiana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, February 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: 5283090, 5283091, 5283092, 5283093, 5283094, 5283095, 5283096, 5283097, 5283087, 5283088, 5283089.