Ice Storm in Iowa, March 8 to 9, 2002

Name: Ice Storm in Iowa, March 8 to 9, 2002
Start: 2002-03-08T16:00
End: 2002-03-09T03:00
Location: Iowa

March 8 to 9, 2002 · NWS DMX · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

A spring storm system developed during the afternoon of the 8th. A strong frontal boundary extended from low pressure in southwest Kansas, northeast across southeast Iowa, into southern Wisconsin.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 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: $375,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 15

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 DMX wrote it up.

A spring storm system developed during the afternoon of the 8th. A strong frontal boundary extended from low pressure in southwest Kansas, northeast across southeast Iowa, into southern Wisconsin. Late in the afternoon, a strong upper level system moved out of the Rockies and begin to lift northeast into the central U.S. Warm and moist air was drawn north ahead of the low pressure system. Dew point temperatures reached the mid to upper 50s over northern Missouri into southeast Iowa. The warm air was lifted over a cold dome of air located over northwest Iowa, where surface temperatures were in the 20s. Freezing rain was widespread over northwest, north central, and west central Iowa. Thunderstorms with freezing rain were also reported with the system. Many places received one quarter inch or more of ice accretion. Areas toward Storm Lake and Estherville reported widespread one quarter to one half inch of ice acretion. The ice did cause scattered power outages in these areas. Spotty power outages were reported as well, however about the time it became critical the colder air moved into northwest Iowa. This changed the precipitation over to ice pellets and light snow.

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 Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 8, 2:54 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 2:54 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
255 PM CST THU MAR 7 2002

SHORT TERM...IMPRSV SPRING STORM TO AFFECT FA TNGT. XPCG SGFNT
CONVECTION TO DVLPMT NR THE BNDRY FM SOUTH CENTRAL TWDS ERN IA. THIS
HAS BEEN CONSISTENT THINKING FOR SOME TIME. MRNG ADV WAS A VRY GOOD
CALL...BUT AFT MORE INSPECTION OF THE THERMAL STRUCTURE IN THE
ADVISORY AREA BLV THAT WL NOT BE ENOUGH. WL PUSH IT UP ANOTHER NOTCH
TO ACCOUNT FOR A SGFNT PD OF ZR FOLLOWED BY SNOW THEN WND. THE WRN
EDGE OF OUR CWA WL LIKELY GET A BIT LESS ZR AND MORE SNOW WHEREAS
JUST A BIT E...MORE ZR AND LESS SNOW. COULD SEE UP TO A 1/3IN ICE
AND 2-4IN SNOW. WITH WNDS XPCD TO EXCEED 40 MPH TMR...ICE ACCUMS WL
BE A MJR PROBLEM FOR POWER DISTRIBUTION SYS/S.

LONGER TERM...WIND ADV WL BE ISSUED AS WELL FOR ENTIRE FA TMR.
SUSTAINED 25-30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 AND OCNL 50. SUNSHINE BY MIDDAY
WITH TMPS STDY OR FALLING. BYD SAT...A SORTA ROLLER COASTER ON TMPS
WITH HIGHS 30-40S AND LOWS IN THE 20S FOR THE MOST PART. SOME PCPN
THREAT LATE WED INTO THU WITH A BTR THREAT FRI INTO WKEND.

THANKS FOR COORD W/FSD...OAX...ARX...DVN...MPX

.DSM...WINTER STORM WARNING TNGT GENLY NW OF KCIN-SE OF KMCW
       WIND ADVISORY ENTIRE CWA SAT

MYERS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Calhoun

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Calhoun forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.385, -94.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Carroll

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.036, -94.861 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Cerro Gordo

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Cerro Gordo forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.082, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Crawford

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.037, -95.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Emmet

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Emmet forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.378, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Hancock

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Humboldt

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Humboldt forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Kossuth

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Kossuth forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Palo Alto

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Palo Alto forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.082, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Pocahontas

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Pocahontas forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.734, -94.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Sac

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Sac forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.386, -95.105 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Webster

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.428, -94.182 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Winnebago

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Winnebago forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Worth

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Worth forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.377, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Wright

When: March 8, 4:00 PM CST to March 9, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Wright forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 42.733, -93.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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, 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: 5281497, 5281498, 5281499, 5281500, 5281501, 5281502, 5281503, 5281504, 5281505, 5281506, 5281507, 5281508, 5281509, 5281510, 5281511.