Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 1 to 2, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 1 to 2, 2002
Start: 2002-03-01T18:30
End: 2002-03-02T16:00
Location: Minnesota

March 1 to 2, 2002 · NWS ARX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A winter storm affected the southeast tip of Minnesota, producing snow accumulations around 6 inches. Strong north winds of 15 to 25 mph accompanied the snow, causing blowing and drifting.

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 ARX wrote it up.

A winter storm affected the southeast tip of Minnesota, producing snow accumulations around 6 inches. Strong north winds of 15 to 25 mph accompanied the snow, causing blowing and drifting.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 3:28 PM CST, 3 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 3:28 PM CST, 3 hours 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
328 PM CST FRI MAR 1 2002

HEAVY SNOW...STRONG WINDS AND MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE THE
FORECAST CONCERNS.

AFTERNOON SURFACE ANALYSIS HAD LOW PRESSURE NEAR TEXAS PANHANDLE...
WITH FRONT EXTENDING ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS INTO MISSOURI AND
ILLINOIS. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATED VIGOROUS SHORT WAVE NEAR THE
FOUR CORNERS AREA...BEGINNING TO HEAD TOWARD THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.
850-700MB FN VECTOR DIVERGENCE IN THE ETA AND RUC MODEL LOCATES
THE FORCING...WHICH WAS PRODUCING WIDESPREAD VISIBILITY LESS THAN A
MILE IN SNOW ACROSS WESTERN IOWA INTO NEBRASKA.

12Z MODELS INITIALIZED FAIRLY WELL. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE AVN AND ETA TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE OVERALL
FORECAST SCENARIO.

PARAMETERS POINT TO A POTENT WINTER STORM TO AFFECT THE FORECAST
AREA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF COLD AIR AND
MOISTURE TO WORK WITH. THE MODELS FORECAST CONVECTION TO OCCUR IN THE
WARM SECTOR TONIGHT...BUT THIS SHOULD NOT INHIBIT THE INFLUX OF
MOISTURE DUE TO 50KT 850 MB WINDS. FORCING TO PRODUCE BANDS OF HEAVY
SNOW SUPPORTED BY 850-700MB FN VECTOR DIVERGENCE. THIS FORCING
ROTATES INTO THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AND ORIENTS ITSELF NORTHEAST-
SOUTHWEST...THEN MOVES AWAY ON SATURDAY. IN ADDITION...ENHANCED
SNOWFLAKE GROWTH WILL BE SUPPORTED BY PROXIMITY OF MINUS 5C ISOTHERM
FOR RIMING...AS WELL AS MINUS 15C ISOTHERM FOR DENDRITIC GROWTH.
UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH 300MB JET OVER THE GREAT LAKES
ALSO SUPPORTS ENHANCEMENT OF UPWARD VERTICAL MOTIONS.

A COUPLE MORE FACTORS TO MAKE THIS A POTENT WINTER STORM WILL BE
STRONG WINDS AND VERY COLD AIR. PRESSURE GRADIENT AT THE SURFACE
FORECAST TO TIGHTEN ON SATURDAY...THEN REMAIN STRONG SATURDAY NIGHT
INTO SUNDAY. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SHOULD BE A PROBLEM DURING THIS
EVENT...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST MN AND NORTHEAST IOWA. VERY COLD
TEMPERATURES ANTICIPATED TO COMBINE WITH STRONG WINDS TO PRODUCE
WINDS CHILLS IN THE 10 TO 25 BELOW RANGE SATURDAY NIGHT.

HAVE CONTINUED PREVIOUS WINTER STORM WARNINGS...AND IN FACT EXPANDED
HEADLINES INTO ALL OF THE FORECAST AREA. THESE ARE DETAILED BELOW
AND OUTLINED IN THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE TO ACCOMPANY THE ZONES.

THANKS FOR COORDINATION WITH KDMX...KDVN...KMKX...KGRB...KMPX.

.LSE...WINTER STORM WARNING...TONIGHT AND SATURDAY...PORTIONS
       OF NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST MN AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL
       WI...IAZ009>011...IAZ018...019...029...030...
       MNZ096...WIZ041>044...053>055...061.

       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...TONIGHT AND SATURDAY...PORTIONS
       OF SOUTHEAST MN...NORTHEAST IOWA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTH
       CENTRAL WI...
       IAZ008...MNZ079...086>088...094...095...WIZ017...029...
       WIZ034>034.

THOMPSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Fillmore

When: March 1, 6:30 PM CST to March 2, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.674, -92.090 (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 Minnesota in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, 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: 5280607.