Winter Storm in Iowa, March 8 to 9, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Iowa, March 8 to 9, 2002
Start: 2002-03-08T18:00
End: 2002-03-09T08:00
Location: Iowa

March 8 to 9, 2002 · NWS FSD · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Freezing rain was followed by 4 to 7 inches of snow. Power lines and poles were down in parts of northwest Iowa, most notably in the Spirit Lake area, where over 2 thousand customers lost power.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
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 FSD wrote it up.

Freezing rain was followed by 4 to 7 inches of snow. Power lines and poles were down in parts of northwest Iowa, most notably in the Spirit Lake area, where over 2 thousand customers lost power. The freezing rain also slowed or halted travel and contributed to many accidents. The snow was accompanied by winds gusting to 45 mph, causing blowing and drifting snow with near zero visibilities at times.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 8, 4:20 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 4:20 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS
420 PM CST FRI MAR 8 2002

BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN THE FIRST PERIOD...AS SURFACE LOW IN EXTREME
SOUTHEAST COLORADO QUICKLY LIFTS NORTHEAST...ALONG THE INVERTED
TROUGH THROUGH IOWA AND WISCONSIN.

BEST DYNAMIC SUPPORT AND MOISTURE FOR FSD CWA COME TOGETHER OVER
NORTHWEST IOWA LATER THIS EVENING THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING...
AND THIS LOOKS LIKE THE AREA THAT WILL SEE THE HIGHEST PRECIP TOTALS
OVERNIGHT.  AFTER COORD WITH DMX...WILL UPGRADE TO A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR FAR SOUTHEAST COUNTIES...INCLUDING DICKINSON-CLAY-BUENA
VISTA-IDA- CHEROKEE AND WOODBURY.  WARNING FOR COMBO OF SOME ICE
ACCUMULATIONS THIS EVENING...TRANSITIONING TO PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW
ARND MIDNIGHT. 3 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE...
ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASING NORTHERLY WINDS CAUSING BLOWING SNOW.
THINK KSUX WILL MISS HEAVIEST SNOW...BUT HAVE TO INCLUDE WOODBURY TO
COVER EASTERN PARTS OF THE COUNTY.

FARTHER TO THE NORTHWEST...A TRANSITION ZONE FROM EXTREME NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA...TO THE KMWM/KMJQ AREAS OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...COULD SEE
A PERIOD OF FREEZING PRECIP EARLY THIS EVENING...BUT SHOULD
TRANSITION TO SNOW PRETTY QUICKLY.  STILL LOOKING AT DRIER MID
LEVEL AIR ABOVE THE VERY MOIST SURFACE AIR FROM KYKN-KFSD-KMML...
AND HAVE COVERED A PERIOD OF FREEZING DRIZZLE FOR THE EARLY EVENING
IN THIS AREA BEFORE THE CHANGE TO SNOW.  GENERALLY LOOKING AT 2 TO 4
INCHES ACROSS NORTHERN AND WESTERN CWA...WITH MOST ACCUMULATIONS
THIS EVENING ACROSS THE JAMES VALLEY AREA.

SNOW SHOULD BE OVER IN MOST OF THE CWA BY SATURDAY MORNING...WITH
JUST SOME LINGERING LIGHT SNOW IN THE FAR EAST EARLY IN THE DAY.
DRY THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND...WITH TEMPS ATTEMPTING TO WARM ON
SUNDAY AS UPPER RIDGING OCCURS.  TEMPS COULD BE LARGLY DEPENDENT ON
WHATEVER SNOW COVER WE RECEIVE TONIGHT...BUT INCREASING POWER OF
MARCH SUN SHOULD WORK ON DIMINISHING THE SNOW PACK PRETTY GOOD.

A WEAK TROUGH MOVING SOUTHEAST OVER THE AREA ON MONDAY...WITH
ETA/AVN DIFFERING ON PRECIP CHANCES.  HAVE OPTED TO LEAVE IT DRY FOR
NOW...WITH THINKING THAT BEST ENERGY WILL SPLIT THE CWA TO THE NORTH
AND SOUTH.

NOT MANY CHANGES TO EXTENDED AT THIS POINT.  KEPT A CHANCE OF SNOW
FOR WEDNESDAY...WITH POSSIBILITY OF SOME RAIN IN THE SOUTH AS MRF
HINTING AT SOME WARMING AHEAD OF THE SYSTEM.

.FSD...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT FAR SOUTHEAST CWA
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT REMAINDER OF CWA
 HACKER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Buena Vista

When: March 8, 6:00 PM CST to March 9, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Buena Vista forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cherokee

When: March 8, 6:00 PM CST to March 9, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clay

When: March 8, 6:00 PM CST to March 9, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dickinson

When: March 8, 6:00 PM CST to March 9, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Dickinson forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ida

When: March 8, 6:00 PM CST to March 9, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Ida forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.387, -95.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Woodbury

When: March 8, 6:00 PM CST to March 9, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Woodbury forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.390, -96.045 (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, 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: 5284986, 5284987, 5284988, 5284989, 5284990, 5284991.