Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 1, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 1, 2002
Start: 2002-03-01T04:00
End: 2002-03-01T22:30
Location: Nebraska

March 1, 2002 · NWS GID · 24 events in 24 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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: $120,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 24

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 GID wrote it up.

About a month after the first winter storm of the season, and about a week after bitter cold air moved into the region, heavy snow fell across south-central Nebraska. Widespread snowfall of 6 to 12 inches occurred. The initial warning was issued about 15 hours before the event began, and most schools in the area cancelled classes on the 1st. In some cases, it wasn't even snowing when school was cancelled, but by midday, a blanket of heavy snow was across the region. The heaviest snow fell north of Interstate 80 where Ord picked up 12 inches. An average of 8 inches fell in the Grand Island and Hastings areas, while about 6 inches was noted closer to the Nebraska/Kansas border. Strong winds up to 35 mph made travel quite treacherous to impossible in some cases.

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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 2:32 AM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 2:32 AM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
232 AM CST FRI MAR 1 2002

WINTER STORM CONDITIONS LIKELY TO BE MET ACROSS CWFA TODAY AND
TONIGHT AS HEAVY SNOW DEVELOPS TODAY AND COMBINES WITH STRONG WINDS
TO PRODUCE RESTRICTED VISIBILITIES AND CONSIDERABLE DRIFTING.

A CONSIDERABLE PERIOD OF OVERUNNING/ISENTROPIC LIFT IS IN THE WORKS
AHEAD OF UPPER TROUGH MOVING OUT OF THE ROCKIES.  WHATS MORE...AREA
WILL BE SITUATED BETWEEN TWO JET SEGMENTS...HELPING TO ENHANCE
OVERALL LIFT.  WHILE MOISTURE CONTENT ON THE 280-285K SURFACE IS NOT
GREAT...2-3 G/KG...DURATION OF LIFT COMBINED WITH COLD AIRMASS AND
SUBSEQUENT SNOW/LIQUID RATIO SHOULD LEAD TO HEFTY AMOUNTS.  LATEST
VERSIONS OF MODEL RUNS HAVE SHIFTED AXIS OF HEAVY SNOW NORTH...NOW
ESSENTIALLY ALONG I 80 CORRIDOR.  TIMING OF GREATEST ISENTROPIC LIFT
AND BEST PROXIMITY OF COUPLED JET STRUCTURE INDICATE THAT HEAVIEST
SNOW SHOULD BE OVER BY 00Z...BUT MID LEVEL TROUGH PASSAGE AT 06Z
DICTATES SOME ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS THIS EVENING.  CERTAINLY
WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE PROBLEMS OVERNIGHT.  THEREFORE WILL GO
WITH WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH TONIGHT ALL AREAS.   AS FOR
AMOUNTS...MODEL QPF AND SNOW RATIO CONVERSIONS COINCIDE WITH GARCIA
TECH MEMORANDUM CR-116...YIELDING 8 TO 12 INCH AMOUNTS.  LESSER
AMOUNTS IN NRN KANSAS ON THE ORDER OF 6 INCHES.

VERY COLD AIR BUILDS INTO THE AREA BEHIND UPPER LOW TONIGHT THROUGH
SUNDAY WITH 850 MB TEMPS PROGGED NEAR -25C BY 12Z SUNDAY.
TEMPERATURES SHOULD FALL THROUGHOUT TODAY INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS
MOST AREAS...THEN DROP BELOW ZERO TONIGHT AS CAA CONTINUES AND
CLOUDS THIN TOWARD DAWN.  WIND CHILLS OF -20 MAY BE MET BY TONIGHT.
SAT NIGHT WILL SEE LESS WINDS BUT TEMPS SHOULD PLUMMET IN OVER SNOW
FIELD.  WILL UNDERCUT GUIDANCE CONSIDERABLY TO 5 TO 10 BELOW ZERO
MOST AREAS.

GRADUAL WARMUP EXPECTED NEXT WEEK AS ZONAL FLOW DEVELOPS...BUT WILL
DEFINITELY BE HAMPERED BY SNOW COVER.  WILL ADJUST DOWNWARD
ESPECIALLY EARLY IN THE WEEK.  PCPN CHANCES WED/THU APPEAR MINIMAL
IN ZONAL PATTERN.  WILL REMOVE WED CHANCE BUT HANG TO THU AS FAST
MOVING WAVES COULD HAVE ENOUGH MOISTURE TO WORK WITH BY THEN.

.GID...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY AND TONIGHT ALL AREAS.

DROZD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

24 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Adams

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.525, -98.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Buffalo

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.855, -99.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clay

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.524, -98.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dawson

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Dawson forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fillmore

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Fillmore forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Franklin

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.953 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Furnas

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Furnas forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gosper

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Gosper forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.515, -99.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Greeley

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Greeley forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hall

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Hall forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -98.502 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamilton

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.874, -98.023 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Harlan

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Harlan forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.177, -99.405 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Howard

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.220, -98.517 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kearney

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Kearney forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.507, -98.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Merrick

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Merrick forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.170, -98.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nance

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Nance forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.397, -97.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nuckolls

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Nuckolls forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.047 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Phelps

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Phelps forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.511, -99.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Polk

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.187, -97.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sherman

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Sherman forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.221, -98.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Thayer

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Thayer forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Valley

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Valley forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.567, -98.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Webster

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.176, -98.500 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, York

When: March 1, 4:00 AM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: York forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.873, -97.597 (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 Nebraska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, 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: 5280236, 5280237, 5280238, 5280239, 5280240, 5280350, 5280351, 5280352, 5280353, 5280354, 5280355, 5280356, 5280357, 5280358, 5280359, 5280360, 5280361, 5280362, 5280363, 5280364, 5280365, 5280366, 5280367, 5280368.