Heavy Snow, Wichita
- When
- March 1, 11:00 PM CST to March 2, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Wichita forecast zone
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 33.988, -98.704 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A short period of winter precipitation affected Wichita and northern Clay Counties during the early morning of the 2nd. The precipitation started as freezing rain, with amounts generally less than one tenth of an inch, before transitioning to snow, with snow accumulations less than one inch.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.
A short period of winter precipitation affected Wichita and northern Clay Counties during the early morning of the 2nd. The precipitation started as freezing rain, with amounts generally less than one tenth of an inch, before transitioning to snow, with snow accumulations less than one inch. The rapid onset of the freezing rain along with north winds of 30 to 40 mph and temperatures falling rapidly into the 20s, made for extremely hazardous traveling conditions, despite the lack of large ice or snow accumulations.
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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 9:50 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
950 PM CST FRI MAR 1 2002
HAVE DECIDED TO EXPAND A WINTER WX ADVISORY SOUTHWESTWARD TO COVER
ALL BUT THE SOUTHEAST ZONES. FREEZING DRIZZLE BEHIND SFC FRONT IS
CREATING SLICK ROADS IN MANY LOCALES ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF I-44.
WINTER STORM WARNING WILL CONT OVER NRN OK.
MILLER
.OUN...
OK...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT OKZ004>013.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT OKZ014>031-033>040-044-045.
TX...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT TXZ083>090.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, March 2002
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: 5280958, 5280959.