Heavy Snow, Alcona
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Alcona forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.712, -83.344 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 2 to 3, 2002
A major winter storm moved through the Great Lakes region on March 2nd and 3rd. The snow began across northern Michigan during the predawn hours of the 2nd and continued until the morning hours on the 3rd.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 22 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
- 25
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 APX wrote it up.
A major winter storm moved through the Great Lakes region on March 2nd and 3rd. The snow began across northern Michigan during the predawn hours of the 2nd and continued until the morning hours on the 3rd. The storm brought widespread reports of 10 to 16 inches of snowfall to northern Michigan, with the heaviest snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour occurring during the afternoon and evening hours on the 2nd. The snow was particularly wet and heavy across northeast Lower Michigan and numerous tree limbs and power lines were downed in this area.
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 Gaylord, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 10:07 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 10:07 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GAYLORD MI
1007 PM EST FRI MAR 01 2002
SFC LOW CONTINUES TO RAPIDLY DEVELOP OVER THE SRN PLAINS LATE THIS
EVENING...WITH THE ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT EXTENDING NE THRU CENTRAL
MO AND IL TO THE SRN TIP OF LAKE MI. LARGE SHIELD OF PRECIP (MAINLY
FROZEN) DRIVEN BY WAA/ISENTROPIC ASCENT (I285) CONTINUES TO INCREASE
IN AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY ALONG AND N OF THIS WARM FRONT...
WITH THE HEAVIEST SN CURRENTLY FALLING FROM ERN NE...IA AND ALONG
THE IL/WI BORDER. WAA PRECIP IS MAKING GOOD NE PROGRESS...BUT IS
HAVING TO OVERCOME A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF LOW LEVEL DRY AIR ACROSS
THE WRN GREAT LAKES.
NO BIG SURPRISES WITH THE LATEST MESO ETA...SHOWING VERY LITTLE
CHANGE IN STRENGTH...TIMING AND TRACK OF THIS SYSTEM AS COMPARED TO
THE 12Z ETA. LATEST OB OUT OF GRB REPORTED -SN NOW REACHING THE
GROUND...SO LOW LEVELS ARE MOISTENING QUICKLY. LOOKS LIKE TIMING OF
PRECIP BEGINNING OVERNIGHT IS STILL ON TARGET. WILL ONLY MAKE
COSMETIC CHANGES TO THE WORDING OF THE OVERNIGHT FORECAST...WITH
SNOW DEVELOPING...THEN BECOMING HEAVY BY DAWN WITH 1-3/2-4 INCHES OF
ACCUMULATION EXPECTED FOR MOST LOCATIONS. WILL ALSO HAVE TO ADJUST
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPS FOR SOME PLACES BASED ON LATEST TEMP TRENDS.
.APX...WINTER STORM WARNING...SAT AND SAT NIGHT...MIZ008-015.
WINTER STORM WARNING...LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SAT NIGHT...
MIZ016>036-041-042.
EMEThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
25 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Alpena
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Alpena forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.064, -83.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Antrim
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Antrim forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.007, -85.176 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Arenac
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Arenac forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.043, -83.747 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Benzie
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Benzie forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.617, -86.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Charlevoix
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Charlevoix forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Snow, Cheboygan
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cheboygan forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.473, -84.492 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Chippewa
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Chippewa forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Snow, Crawford
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.684, -84.610 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Emmet
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Emmet forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.588, -84.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Gladwin
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Gladwin forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 43.991, -84.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Grand Traverse
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Grand Traverse forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.716, -85.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Iosco
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Iosco forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.301, -83.514 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Kalkaska
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Kalkaska forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.685, -85.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Leelanau
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Leelanau forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.152, -86.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Mackinac
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Mackinac forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Snow, Manistee
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Manistee forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.238, -86.288 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Missaukee
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Missaukee forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.337, -85.095 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Montmorency
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montmorency forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.028, -84.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Ogemaw
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Ogemaw forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.335, -84.126 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Oscoda
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Oscoda forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.682, -84.130 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Otsego
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Otsego forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.021, -84.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Presque Isle
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Presque Isle forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.398, -83.843 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Roscommon
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Roscommon forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.336, -84.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Wexford
- When
- March 2, 12:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wexford forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.338, -85.578 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
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
- 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
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, March 2, 2002
More
Every storm in Michigan in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, 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: 5284024, 5284025, 5284026, 5284027, 5284028, 5284029, 5284030, 5284031, 5284032, 5284033, 5284034, 5284035, 5284138, 5284139, 5284140, 5284141, 5284142, 5284143, 5284144, 5284145, 5284146, 5284147, 5284148, 5284149, 5284150.