Nebraska, 2002

Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 24 to 25, 2002

March 24 to 25, 2002 · NWS GID · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A 30 mile wide swath of snow fell from just southeast of Red Cloud to near Geneva. Snowfall ranged from 4 to 8 inches, with Nelson and Guide Rock both reporting 8 inches of new snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

A 30 mile wide swath of snow fell from just southeast of Red Cloud to near Geneva. Snowfall ranged from 4 to 8 inches, with Nelson and Guide Rock both reporting 8 inches of new snow. Deweese checked in with 6 inches of white stuff. Travel was quite treacherous early in the morning of the 25th and numerous schools closed due to the poor road conditions.

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 24, 3:25 PM CST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 24, 3:25 PM CST, 5 hours 35 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
325 PM CST SUN MAR 24 2002

WL ADD NRN COUNTIES OF THE CWA TO THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BASED
ON RADAR TRENDS...ALTHOUGH DRY LLVL AIR HAS ADVECTED OVR THESE ZONES
THRU THE DAY AND LENGTHENED THE SATURATION TIME.  LOWER SN TOTALS
COMBINED WITH WND WL BE ENOUGH TO BE A NUISANCE FOR EVENING
MOTORISTS.

.GID...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ALL ZONES.

09

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Clay

When
March 24, 9:00 PM CST to March 25, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.524, -98.051 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fillmore

When
March 24, 9:00 PM CST to March 25, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.525, -97.596 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nuckolls

When
March 24, 9:00 PM CST to March 25, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Nuckolls forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.047 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Thayer

When
March 24, 9:00 PM CST to March 25, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Thayer forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -97.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Webster

When
March 24, 9:00 PM CST to March 25, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Webster forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.176, -98.500 (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 Nebraska in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5280369, 5280370, 5280371, 5280372, 5280373.