Winter Storm in Iowa, January 30 to 31, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, January 30 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-30T12:00
End: 2002-01-31T21:00
Location: Iowa

January 30 to 31, 2002 · NWS OAX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A long lasting winter storm dropped 6 to 10 inches of snow over most of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. S.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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 OAX wrote it up.

A long lasting winter storm dropped 6 to 10 inches of snow over most of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. The event began when light snow spread into extreme southeast Nebraska around 500 am Wednesday 1/30/02 as warm advection set up ahead of a developing intense upper level low pressure system over the southwest U.S. The snow increased in intensity in southeast Nebraska before noon that day, then slowly spread north. The snow made it into the Omaha and Lincoln areas around 400 pmWednesday, and finally reached far northeast Nebraska and west central Iowa around Midnight. Outside of far southeast Nebraska and extreme southwest Iowa, most of the snow associated with the warm advection was light - generally less than 3 inches. Locations in extreme southeast Nebraska and extreme southwest Iowa did manage to pick up 6 inches of snow before Thursday morning. As the upper level system moved onto the plains Thursday 1/31/02, a deformation band of moderate to heavy snow developed from south central Nebraska into west central Iowa. The snow from this feature was most intense from late morning into the early evening hours. Although winds did increase Thursday afternoon to occasionally over 20 mph, substantial blowing and drifting snow was not reported. Nonetheless, many schools were closed on Thursday, and these same schools either started late or cancelled classes again on Friday.Heavier storm totals in eastern Nebraska from the storm included, 10 inches in Gretna, parts of west Omaha, Madison, Roca, and Fairbury; 9 inches at Lincoln, Valley (NWS), Hickman, Uehling, Springfield, Plattsmouth, Schuyler, and Columbus; and 8 inches at David City, Raymond, Virginia, Surprise and Utica.Heavier storm totals in western Iowa included, 8 inches in Logan, Oakland and Randolph and 7 inches at Harlan, Red Oak, Sidney, and Onawa.

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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 3:20 AM CST, 8 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 3:20 AM CST, 8 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
320 AM CST WED JAN 30 2002

RATHER COMPLEX WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES TO UNFOLD. IN NEAR TERM
FORECAST FOR TODAY APPEARS MAIN THREAT FOR SGFNT PRECIP TODAY WILL
BE CONFINED TO PTNS SE NEB INTO SW IA MAINLY LATER THIS AFTN
ASSOCIATED WITH ISENTROPIC LIFT AND WAA. FARTHER NWD SOME SNOW MAY
DVLP LATER THIS AFTN ACROSS LNK AND OMA BUT FCST SOUNDINGS INDICATE
IT WILL TAKE TIME TO SATURATE ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN. MORE WIDESPREAD
AND POTENTIALLY HEAVIER PRECIP WILL THEN LIKELY DVLP ACROSS AREA
TNGT THRU THU AS DYNAMICS AND UPPER FORCING INCREASE AS UPPER TROF
LIFTS INTO CNTRL PLAINS. FOR NOW WILL GENLY RUN WITH ETA ON THIS
SCENARIO. BELIEVE AT THIS POINT PSTNS SE NEB AND SW IA HAVE MOST
LIKELY THREAT LATE TODAY THRU THU AND WILL PULL TRIGGER FOR WINTER
STORMS WARNING LATE THIS AFTN THRU THU TIME FRAME. COULD BE SOME
SLEET MIX TODAY HOWEVER IN LATER PERIODS BUFKIT SOUNDINGS INDICATE
PRECIP MAINLY IN FORM OF SNOW. BASSED ON GARCIA TECHNIQUE INDICATING
AROUND AT LEAST 3-4G/KG AVBL ALONG WITH H2 TEMPS DIFFERENCES 6 TO 10
INCHES OF SNOW NOT OUT OF REALM OF POSSIBILITY BY THU AFTN IN
WARNING AREA. WINDS WITH SYSTEM DO NOT APPEAR TO BE A MAJOR CONCERN AND
MORE IN 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE GENLY STRONGEST. FURTHER NWD ACROSS E CNTRL
NEB INTO W CNTRL IA FCST MORE OF A TOUGHER CALL. WILL LIKELY BE
TIGHT GRADIENT OF SNOW AMOUNTS ACROSS THIS AREA. PORTIONS OF THIS
AREA MAY GET BY WITH MORE OF SNOW AMOUNTS MAKING ONLY WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY CRITERIA BY THU AFTN. HOWEVER BASED ON CONTINUING
UNCERTAINITY OF SITUATION...AFTER COORDINATION WITH GID AND DSM...
PRUDENT COURSE OF ACTION AT THIS TIME WILL BE TO RETAIN WINTER STORM
WATCH TNGT AND THU AND LET DAY SHIFT MAKE CALL. BEYOND PRECIP
LINGERS SE NEB AND SW IA INTO THU EVE. LATER FORECAST PERIODS LOOK
MOSTLY DRY AND ANTICIPATE NO MAJOR CHANGES AT THIS TIME.

.OMA...WINTER STORM WARNING...LATE AFTN THRU THU...NEZ068-088>093-IAZ080
       -090-091
       WINTER STORM WATCH...TONIGHT AND THU...NEZ044-045-050>053-
       065>067-078-IAZ055-056-069-079
WIESE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Monona

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Monona forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.052, -95.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fremont

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Fremont forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.746, -95.605 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Harrison

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Harrison forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.683, -95.817 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Mills

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Mills forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.034, -95.621 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Montgomery

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.030, -95.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pottawattamie

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Pottawattamie forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.337, -95.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Shelby

When: January 30, 12:00 PM CST to January 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Shelby forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.685, -95.310 (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 Iowa in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, January 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: 5278732, 5278733, 5278734, 5278735, 5278736, 5278737, 5278738.