Oklahoma, 2002

Heavy Snow in Oklahoma, March 2, 2002

March 2, 2002 · NWS TSA · 19 events in 19 counties and zones

An arctic cold front moved southeast across eastern Oklahoma during the night of the first and second of March. Meanwhile, an upper level system moved northeast out of the desert southwest.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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
19

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 TSA wrote it up.

An arctic cold front moved southeast across eastern Oklahoma during the night of the first and second of March. Meanwhile, an upper level system moved northeast out of the desert southwest. The result was a large area of precipitation. The precipitation began as rain and turned first to freezing rain and sleet and then to snow from northwest to southeast across the area during the early morning hours. The snow fell at a rate of up to 2 inches an hour at some places and was accompanied by lightning and thunder. The snow tapered off to flurries around noon. A few accumulations include: Pryor...9 inches, Vinita...9 inches, Miami...8 inches, Oologah...8 inches, Claremore...6 inches, Tulsa...6 inches, Wagoner...6 inches, Muskogee...6 inches, Bartlesville...5 inches, Okmulgee...5 inches, Stigler...4 inches, Tahlequah...4 inches and McAlester...4 inches.

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 9:30 PM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 1, 9:30 PM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
930 PM CST FRI MAR 1 2002

PLAN ON UPGRADING TO A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AREAS N AND NW OF
TULSA. WILL KEEP REMAINDER OF WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY AS IS.

LATEST MESOETA/NGM CONSISTENT IN DEVELOPING SECONDARY BAND OF
POST-FRONTAL PRECIPITATION AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS NCNTRL INTO NE OK.
STRONGEST MID AND UPPER LEVEL FORCING REMAINS ACROSS PARTS OF NE OK
NEAR THE KS BORDER....SO SOME AREAS COULD APPROACH WINTER STORM
WARNING CRITERIA (4 INCHES OF SNOW).

PRECIPITATION MAY ALSO MIX WITH SLEET OR EVEN FREEZING RAIN
OVERNIGHT AS VERY COLD LOW-LEVEL AIR UNDERCUTS THE PRECIPITATION.
WILL NEED TO WATCH PARTS OF SE OK CLOSELY.

HAVE SEEN A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES OVER FAR ERN OK...AND PLAN ON
KEEPING A MENTION OF THUNDER ALL NIGHT FOR SE OK/NW AR.  STILL NOT
TOO CRAZY ABOUT SEVERE CHANCES...COULD HAVE AN ISOLATED HAILER.

WILL TRY TO HAVE UPDATED ZONES AND NEW WSW OUT BY 945 PM.

FCSTID = 18

.TSA...
AR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH MIDDAY SAT FOR
ARZ001-002-010-011.
OK...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH MIDDAY SAT FOR OK054>056-059.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH MIDDAY SAT FOR OKZ060>064-067>069.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

19 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Washington

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.715, -95.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Adair

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Adair forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.884, -94.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cherokee

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Cherokee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.907, -95.000 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Craig

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Craig forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.762, -95.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Creek

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Creek forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.903, -96.371 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.408, -94.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Haskell

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Haskell forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.225, -95.117 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mayes

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Mayes forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.302, -95.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, McIntosh

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
McIntosh forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.374, -95.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Muskogee

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Muskogee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.616, -95.379 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Nowata

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Nowata forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.799, -95.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Okfuskee

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Okfuskee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.466, -96.323 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Okmulgee

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Okmulgee forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.647, -95.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Osage

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Osage forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT

Heavy Snow, Ottawa

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Ottawa forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.836, -94.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pittsburg

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Pittsburg forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.924, -95.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rogers

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Rogers forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.372, -95.604 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tulsa

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Tulsa forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.121, -95.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wagoner

When
March 2, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Wagoner forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.961, -95.521 (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

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, 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: 5286881, 5286882, 5286883, 5286884, 5286885, 5286886, 5286887, 5286888, 5286889, 5286890, 5286891, 5286892, 5286893, 5286894, 5286895, 5286896, 5286897, 5286898, 5286899.