Winter Storm, Bourbon
- When
- March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Bourbon forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.855, -94.849 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Kansas, March 2, 2002
A late winter storm brought a variety of winter weather across southeast Kansas during the morning hours of March 2nd. Strong low pressure developed over Arkansas the evening of March 1st, which moved copious amounts of moisture northward across the region.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 SGF wrote it up.
A late winter storm brought a variety of winter weather across southeast Kansas during the morning hours of March 2nd. Strong low pressure developed over Arkansas the evening of March 1st, which moved copious amounts of moisture northward across the region. An arctic air mass moved through the area that early morning, dropping temperatures 20 to 30 degrees in six hours. Before the snow started, a shallow layer of warm air aloft provided an hour or two of freezing rain, mixed with heavy sleet at times. Between one tenth and one quarter of an inch of ice accumulated on roadways before the heavy snow began. Between four and six inches of snow fell across southeast Kansas, with the heaviest around Columbus. Whiteout conditions were common over southeast Kansas during the morning as northerly winds up to 40 mph caused considerable blowing and drifting snow. Numerous car accidents were reported but no serious injuries.
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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 10:00 PM CST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 10:00 PM CST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 1000 PM CST FRI MAR 1 2002 QUICK ZONE UPDATE IS OUT BEEFING UP SNOW TOTALS TO JUST UNDER WARNING CRITERIA. LATEST MODEL RUNS SHOW POSSIBILITY OF CONVECTIVE SNOWS TOMORROW MORNING...WITH DEEP LAYER ABOVE 750 MB CONVECTIVELY UNSTABLE WELL INTO THE MORNING. CHANGEOVER TO SNOW WILL OCCUR AS COUPLED 400MB JET STREAKS MOVE IN OVER THIS CONVECTIVELY UNSTABLE LAYER. JET COUPLING PRODUCES AN AMPLIFIED AGEOSTROPHIC CIRCULATION OVER THE AREA AND RESULTANT STRONG UVV MAY PRODUCE LOCAL TSSN AND HEAVY BURSTS OF SNOW. NONE OF THE MODELS CONVECTIVE SCHEMES KICK IN UNLESS INSTABILITY IS ROOTED IN LOWEST 200MB...SO QPF MAY BE WAY UNDERDONE. WILL OPT AT THIS POINT TO INCREASE SNOW TOTALS AND BEEF UP WORDING IN ZONES AND WSW. IF LIGHTNING PICKS UP OVER KS AND OK OVERNIGHT...THEN MIDNIGHT SHIFT CAN PULL THE PLUG ON A WARNING. .SGF... MO...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR LATE TONIGHT MOZ055-056- 066>068-077-078-088-093-101 SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY FOR MOZ057-058-069>071- 079>081-089>092-094-095-102-103 KS...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR KSZ073-097-101 BROWNING
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Cherokee
- When
- March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cherokee forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.169, -94.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Crawford
- When
- March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.507, -94.852 (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
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in Texas, March 2 to 3, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 2 to 3, 2002
- Winter Storm in Missouri, March 2, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 2, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, March 2, 2002
- Winter Storm in Michigan, March 2 to 4, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 2 to 3, 2002
- Winter Storm in Missouri, March 2, 2002
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 2 to 3, 2002
- Winter Storm in Arkansas, March 2, 2002
- High Wind in Florida, March 2, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, March 2 to 3, 2002
More
Every storm in Kansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Kansas, 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: 5286048, 5286049, 5286050.