Michigan, 2002

Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 25, 2002

March 25, 2002 · NWS DTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A low pressure system moved from central Tennessee to western Pennsylvania during the day on the 26th. An upper level disturbance north of this surface low helped to produce an area of snowfall across the far southern sections of southeast Michigan.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 DTX wrote it up.

A low pressure system moved from central Tennessee to western Pennsylvania during the day on the 26th. An upper level disturbance north of this surface low helped to produce an area of snowfall across the far southern sections of southeast Michigan. Hardest hit was Monroe County where 5 to 8 inches of snowfall was measured. Other locations south of Interstate 94 generally saw 3 to 5 inches, while places north saw little if any snowfall.

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 Detroit, MI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 25, 10:35 AM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 25, 10:35 AM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
1035 AM EST MON MAR 25 2002

UPDATE CONCERN REVOLVES AROUND SNOW POTENTIAL FOR THE FAR SOUTHERN
CWA. SHORTWAVE OVER ILLINOIS LIFTING NORTHEAST INTO CONFLUENT
MID-LEVEL FLOW OVER LOWER MICHIGAN...BECOMING SHEARED AND DEFLECTED
EASTWARD. SURFACE FRONT EXTENDS FROM TEXAS TO THE OHIO VALLEY...WITH
HIGH PRESSURE FROM LAKE WINNIPEG ACROSS NORTHERN ONTARIO. VERY DRY
LOW-LEVEL AIR APPARENT ON 12Z DTX SOUNDING...WITH DEWPOINT
DEPRESSIONS >30C BELOW 700MB. WITH DRY AIR PULLED AROUND THE
HIGH...THERE IS A SHARP NORTHWARD CUTOFF TO PRECIP OCCURRING ACROSS
INDIANA/OHIO...ONLY A FEW REPORTS OF ANY SNOW NEAR THE SOUTHERN CWA.
12Z RUC FORECAST SOUNDINGS/PLAN VIEWS SHOW THE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE
EDGING NORTHWARD DURING THE AFTERNOON. STRONG 850MB
FRONTOGENESIS/LIFT ALONG THE FRONT STAYS SOUTH OF THE CWA. THE RUC
DEPICTS A SECOND BULLSEYE OF LIFT OVER ILLINOIS...ALIGNED WITH A
SECOND AREA OF HIGHER REFLECTIVITIES. UPPER DIVERGENCE FROM COUPLED
300MB JET LOOKS TO BE AIDING THIS PRECIP...A FEATURE WHICH BRUSHES
ACROSS THE SOUTHERN CWA THIS AFTERNOON. WILL CARRY LIGHT SNOW
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...GREATEST ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHERN TIER
COUNTIES...AND MENTION LESS THAN AN INCH OF ACCUMULATION. STILL VERY
DRY AIR TO PUSH INTO...AND WILL KEEP WITH LIGHT SNOW LIKELY FOR
ARB/DTW TIER. OTHERWISE FLURRIES WITH A FEW LINGERING LAKE EFFECT
SNOW SHOWERS SURVIVING ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWA. WITH CLOUD COVER AND
COLD AIR IN PLACE...TEMPERATURES WILL HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO GET OUT OF
THE 20S.

.DTX...NONE.

JHB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When
March 25, 12:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.921, -83.494 (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

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: 5281929.