Mississippi, 2002

Winter Storm in Mississippi, February 5 to 6, 2002

February 5 to 6, 2002 · NWS MEG · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A winter storm dumped heavy snow on the Mid-south. Between two and four inches of snow fell across extreme North Mississippi.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
7

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 MEG wrote it up.

A winter storm dumped heavy snow on the Mid-south. Between two and four inches of snow fell across extreme North Mississippi.

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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 5, 3:22 PM CST, 5 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 3:22 PM CST, 5 hours 38 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
322 PM CST TUE FEB 5 2002

A DEVELOPING SFC LOW OVER THE NW GULF WILL TRACK EWD ALONG THE GULF
COAST TNT-WED...THEN TRACK NEWD INTO THE CAROLINAS WED NITE-THU. A
500MB SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FCST AREA WED NITE. THIS WILL
ALLOW 3 FCST PERIODS OF WINTER WX WITH THE BEST CHC FOR ALL SNOW IN
THE NW GROUP WHILE THE SE ZONE GROUP WILL CHANGE TO RAIN BY 12Z
WED. ALL AREAS SHOULD TURN BACK TO SNOW WED NITE. ACCUMULATIONS WILL
BE IN THE ADVISORY CATAGORY.

.MEG...SNOW ADVISORY NE AR AND EXTREME NW TN TNT-WED NITE.
       WINTER WEATHER ADV REST OF W TN AND MS DELTA TNT-WED NITE.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NE MS TNT.

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, De Soto

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
De Soto forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.875, -89.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tate

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Tate forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.650, -89.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tunica

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Tunica forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.652, -90.375 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marshall

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.762, -89.503 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Benton

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Benton forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.817, -89.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tippah

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Tippah forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.768, -88.909 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Alcorn

When
February 5, 9:00 PM CST to February 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Alcorn forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.881, -88.580 (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

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, February 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: 5280968, 5280969, 5280970, 5280971, 5280972, 5280973, 5280974.