Winter Storm, Cottonwood
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Cottonwood forecast zone
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.007, -95.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 14, 2002
Snow was preceded by freezing rain, with a wide variation in how the area was affected. From Pipestone to Tracy and north, including Marshall, heavy snow accumulated 8 to 16 inches, with the 16 inches reported at Tracy.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
- $100,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
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 FSD wrote it up.
Snow was preceded by freezing rain, with a wide variation in how the area was affected. From Pipestone to Tracy and north, including Marshall, heavy snow accumulated 8 to 16 inches, with the 16 inches reported at Tracy. The snowfall made travel difficult, and some roads were blocked due to drifting. Further south, from Luverne to Windom and south to Jackson, the precipitation was mainly freezing rain, although 2 to 5 inches of snow fell on top of the ice. Power line damage and outages were reported in the Windom and Jackson areas, and the ice accumulation also caused widespread minor tree damage. Travel was extremely difficult due to ice covered roads, and also the snow that fell on top of the ice.
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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 14, 9:45 AM CST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 9:45 AM CST, 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS 945 AM CST THU MAR 14 2002 EARLIER FCST LOOKS GOOD AS HI PRES MOVES E OVR CWA THIS AFTN. CLDS IN ERN AREAS SHLD BRK UP BY ERLY AFTN. THIS WILL HELP TO WRM TEMPS BUT WITH AMOUNT OF SNW CVR IN WRN AND NRN PARTS OF CWA...8 TO 19 INCHES...THEY WILL BE HELD DWN CNSDRBLY. SE AREAS ARE GNLY SNW FREE BUT THERE IS SOME ICE CVR THAT SHLD MELT QUICKLY THIS AFTN. WILL ADJST WRDG ON CLDS AND WNDS AFTN BUT LV TEMPS ALONE FOR NOW. .FSD...NONE 45
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Jackson
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -95.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Lincoln
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.413, -96.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Lyon
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Lyon forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.414, -95.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Murray
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Murray forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -95.763 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Nobles
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Nobles forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -95.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Pipestone
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Pipestone forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.023, -96.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Rock
- When
- March 14, 10:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Rock forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 43.675, -96.253 (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
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 14, 2002
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Iowa, March 14, 2002
- Ice Storm in Iowa, March 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 14 to 15, 2002
- Avalanche in Utah, March 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 14 to 15, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 14 to 15, 2002
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 14, 2002
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5284075, 5284076, 5284077, 5284170, 5284171, 5284172, 5284173, 5284174.