Winter Storm in Missouri, December 4, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Missouri, December 4, 2002
Start: 2002-12-04T01:00
End: 2002-12-04T22:00
Location: Missouri

December 4, 2002 · NWS LSX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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: 11

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 LSX wrote it up.

The first winter storm of the season dropped from 2 to 5 inches of snow from Central to East Central Missouri. Although light snow started in some locations around 1 am, the real accumulating snow did not start until 4 to 5 am. This created a disastrous morning rush hour in metropolitan areas. In many areas, school busses were already rolling by the time roads became hazardous causing some to run up to an hour late. A number of areas reported over 100 automobile accidents from 6 to 9 am.

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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 3, 9:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 9:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
945 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

COPIOUS CLOUD COVER KEEPING TEMPERATURES UP THIS EVENING.  OUR GOING
LOW TEMPERATURES ARE A LITTLE BIT COOL...SO WILL MAKE SOME TWEAKS TO
THE GOING ZONES.  I AM A LITTLE CONCERNED WITH THE NEW QPF FROM THE
ETA WHICH PRINTS OUT UP TO AN INCH OF LIQUID EQUIVALENT ACROSS MY
ADVISORY AREA.  THIS SEEMS A BIT MUCH ON FIRST GLANCE.  BUT SINCE
WEVE GOT UP TO 6 INCHES IN THE ADVISORY AREA...I THINK WERE WELL
COVERED FOR THE TIME BEING.

.STL...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR REYNOLDS...IRON...AND MADISON
       COUNTIES MISSOURI.

CARNEY

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 3, 4:00 PM CST, 9 hours before

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-034>036
-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-040100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
400 PM CST TUE DEC 3 2002

THIS OUTLOOK COVERS CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL
AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT FOR
IRON...MADISON AND REYNOLDS COUNTIES IN MISSOURI.

SNOW ASSOCIATED WITH A STORM SYSTEM OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS STATES
WILL SPREAD INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH
THE DAY WEDNESDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. TOTAL
ACCUMULATION OF 3 TO 6 INCHES IS EXPECTED BEFORE THE SNOW ENDS
WEDNESDAY EVENING.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO THE WEATHER
SERVICE OFFICE IN ST LOUIS.

BRITT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Boone

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.991, -92.310 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Callaway

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Callaway forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.836, -91.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cole

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Cole forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.505, -92.282 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Franklin

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.411, -91.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gasconade

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Gasconade forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.441, -91.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jefferson

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.261, -90.538 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Moniteau

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Moniteau forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.633, -92.583 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Charles

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: St. Charles forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.782, -90.675 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Louis

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.641, -90.443 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, St. Louis (C)

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: St. Louis (C) forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.627, -90.198 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When: December 4, 1:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.765, -91.161 (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 Missouri in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, December 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: 5324853, 5324854, 5324855, 5324856, 5324857, 5324982, 5324983, 5324984, 5324985, 5324986, 5324987.