Winter Storm, St. Joseph
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
- Where
- St. Joseph forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 41.914, -85.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Michigan, February 26 to 27, 2002
4 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
- 4
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 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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 3:40 PM EST, 10 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 3:40 PM EST, 10 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA 340 PM EST MON FEB 25 2002 SECOND AND STRONGER WAVE MOVG DOWN THE BACKSIDE OF THE TROF OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL PREVENT MAIN SYSTEM FROM LIFTING RAPIDLY NORTHEAST. 12Z NCEP MODELS HAVE INCREASED QPF FROM 00Z RUNS WITH AMTS AROUND OR OVER 1.00 INCH. COLD FRONT HAS PUSHED EAST INTO FAR NORTHEAST INDIANA AT 20Z WITH TEMP ALREADY DOWN TO 36 DEGREES AT VPZ...SO COLD AIR WILL BE IN PLACE OVER NW INDIANA FOR BASICALLY AN ALL-SNOW EVENT. WEAK SFC WAVE ALONG THE FRONT OVER ARKANSAS SHOULD INTENSIFY RAPIDLY OVERNIGHT AS UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT ARRIVES WITH STRONG VORT MAX ROUNDING BASE OF TROF. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WAS JUST BELOW 850 MB AT 12Z...BUT SHOWED UP NICELY AT 925 MB. SFC DEW PTS IN THE 50S AT 20Z OVER WESTERN TN SHOULD ADVECT NORTH AND PROVIDE SUFFICIENT MOISTURE FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL. PREFER THE ETA SOLUTION THE BEST FOR THIS SCENARIO. THE AVN APPEARS TO LIFT THE SFC LOW TOO FAST AND MOVE THE PCPN OUT TOO QUICKLY GIVEN ABOVE REASONING. THE NGM APPEARS TO HAVE A POOR HANDLE ON TEMPS BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AND DOES NOT BRING IN THE COLD AIR FAST ENOUGH. WILL THEREFORE AN ISSUE A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR COUNTIES THAT HAD A WATCH EARLIER. WILL NOT ISSUE ANY HIGHLIGHTS FOR 5 COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST OHIO AS TEMPERATURES ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW UNTIL LATE TONIGHT. STILL TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW MUCH PCPN TUESDAY WILL FALL AS SNOW. EXTENDED... NOT MUCH TO CHANGE BASED ON NEW RUNS AND NCEP DISCO. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY FOR NEXT WEEKEND SO WILL KEEP A CHANCE FOR MIXED PRECIP SUNDAY/MONDAY. TEMP WILL BE MORE LIKE WINTER THROUGH THE WEEK. .IWX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT FAR NW INDIANA AND SW LOWER MICH. WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONINGHT REST OF NRN IND EXCEPT EXTREME SE CWA. SKIP/RES
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Branch
- When
- February 26, 2:00 AM EST to 3:30 PM EST
- Where
- Branch forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 41.916, -85.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Berrien
- When
- February 26, 4:00 PM EST to February 27, 4:00 AM EST
- Where
- Berrien forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
Widespread moderate to heavy snow occurred across extreme southwestern Michigan. Much of the accumulation that occurred in St. Joseph and Branch counties was the result of synoptic snows in association with low pressure that moved through the lower Great Lakes/Ohio Valley. Total snowfall amounts from the area ranged from 5 to 7 inches. In Berrien and Cass counties, accumulations were a combination of synoptic and lake enhanced snow, with the majority of it falling during the evening of the 26th and early morning hours of the 27th. Accumulations ranged from 6-7 inches in Cass county, to 11-12 inches in Berrien county.
Winter Storm, Cass
- When
- February 26, 4:00 PM EST to February 27, 4:00 AM EST
- Where
- Cass forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 41.915, -85.993 (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
- Extreme Cold in Georgia, February 26 to 28, 2002
- Winter Storm in Indiana, February 26 to 27, 2002
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, February 26 to 27, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, February 26, 2002
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, February 26 to 27, 2002
- Winter Storm in Indiana, February 26, 2002
- High Wind in Alaska, February 26, 2002
- Strong Wind in Hawaii, February 26 to 27, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 26, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 26, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 26, 2002
- Flash Flood in Hawaii, February 26, 2002
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, February 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: 5283021, 5283022, 5283019, 5283020.