Iowa, 2002

Winter Storm in Iowa, March 1 to 3, 2002

March 1 to 3, 2002 · NWS DVN · 21 events in 21 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; 21 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
21

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, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 1:25 PM CST, 1 hour 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

21 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Benton

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Benton forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Buchanan

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Buchanan forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cedar

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Cedar forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clinton

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Delaware

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Des Moines

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Des Moines forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dubuque

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Dubuque forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Henry

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Henry forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iowa

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Iowa forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Johnson

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jones

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Jones forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Keokuk

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Keokuk forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lee

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Lee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Linn

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Linn forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Louisa

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Louisa forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Muscatine

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Muscatine forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Scott

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Van Buren

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Van Buren forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When
March 1, 3:00 PM CST to March 3, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.336, -91.718 (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

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, 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: 5285521, 5285522, 5285523, 5285524, 5285525, 5285526, 5285527, 5285528, 5285529, 5285530, 5285531, 5285532, 5285533, 5285534, 5285535, 5285536, 5285537, 5285538, 5285539, 5285540, 5285541.