Heavy Snow, Koochiching
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Koochiching forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 48.245, -93.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 9, 2002
Most of the event was heavy snow, but it started out as freezing rain and sleet in areas from Duluth and south. Most of northeastern Minnesota received six or more inches of snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
- 14
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 DLH wrote it up.
Most of the event was heavy snow, but it started out as freezing rain and sleet in areas from Duluth and south. Most of northeastern Minnesota received six or more inches of snow. The highest amounts were 9 to 8 inches from Crow Wing County northward through Cass County and Koochiching County. Winds were gusting over 30 miles an hour, causing low visibilities 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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 8, 9:30 PM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 9:30 PM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
930 PM CST FRI MAR 8 2002
FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF
THE FORECAST AREA. ZONES HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO MENTION FREEZING RAIN
IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE MINNESOTA ZONES. ALSO SEEING SOME
LIGHTNING APPROACH OUR AREA. CURRENT FORECAST AS EVERYTHING ELSE
WELL COVERED WITH HEAVY SNOW OVERNIGHT INTO SATURDAY. BELTZ
.DLH...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MINNESOTA ZONES
12-19>21-33>38 AND WISCONSIN ZONES 1>4-6>9.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MINNESOTA ZONES
10-11-18-25-26.The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
14 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Northern Cook / Northern Lake
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Northern Cook / Northern Lake forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.670, -90.975 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Northern Itasca
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Northern Itasca forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Central St. Louis
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Central St. Louis forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Lake / North Shore
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Southern Lake / North Shore forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.557, -91.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Cook / North Shore
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Southern Cook / North Shore forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.817, -90.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Northern Cass
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Northern Cass forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Itasca
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Southern Itasca forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Cass
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Southern Cass forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Crow Wing
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Crow Wing forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.482, -94.071 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Northern Aitkin
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Northern Aitkin forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern Aitkin
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Southern Aitkin forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Southern St. Louis / Carlton
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Southern St. Louis / Carlton forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 47.091, -92.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Pine
- When
- March 9, 1:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Pine forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 46.121, -92.741 (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
- High Wind in Illinois, March 9, 2002
- High Wind in Ohio, March 9 to 10, 2002
- High Wind in Ohio, March 9, 2002
- Blizzard in Minnesota, March 9, 2002
- High Wind in Iowa, March 9, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, March 9, 2002
- Damaging Wind and High Wind in New York, March 9, 2002
- High Wind in Michigan, March 9 to 10, 2002
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Pennsylvania, March 9 to 10, 2002
- High Wind in Michigan, March 9, 2002
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Ohio, March 9, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, March 9, 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: 5284631, 5284632, 5284633, 5284634, 5284635, 5284636, 5284637, 5284638, 5284639, 5284640, 5284641, 5284642, 5284643, 5284644.