Name: Heavy Snow in Utah, March 17 to 18, 2002
Start: 2002-03-17T03:00
End: 2002-03-18T06:00
Location: Utah

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 SLC wrote it up.

Another snow storm hit Northern Utah, with the heaviest amounts falling along the Wasatch Front. Snow totals included 17 inches at Alta, 15 inches at Snowbird and Solitude, 13 inches on the East Salt Lake bench, 11 inches in East Millcreek, 10 inches at Val Verda, 9 inches in Centerville, Stansbury Park and Rose Park, and 8 inches at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

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 Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 16, 9:00 PM MST, 6 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 16, 9:00 PM MST, 6 hours before

UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
900 PM MST SAT MAR 16 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A COLD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL REMAIN OVER THE WESTERN
STATES INTO EARLY MONDAY.  HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING DRIER AND
WARMER CONDITIONS TO THE REGION THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...LEADING PIECE OF UPPER LEVEL TROF EJECTING WESTWARD
THROUGH GREAT BASIN THIS EVENING.  WEAK FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS
FEATURE CURRENTLY OVER THE GREAT SALT LAKE.  PRECIP LOOKING MORE
ORGANIZED BEHIND THIS FRONT WITH BAND DEVELOPING ON RADAR AND
ASSOCIATED COOLING IN CLOUD TOPS.  THIS SHOULD MOVE INTO WASATCH
FRONT IN THE SEVERAL HOURS.  NOT EXPECTING A LOT OUT OF THIS BUT
OWING TO INSTABILITY AND WESTERLY FLOW BEHIND THE FRONT SHOULD SEE
SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOP OVER N UTAH AS THE NIGHT PROGRESSES. HAVE
UPDATED TO FRESHEN UP WORDING IN MOST PART TO SAY SNOW SHOWERS
DEVELOPING AS THERE HAS BEEN ONLY SPOTTY ACTIVITY AHEAD OF THE
FRONT THIS EVENING.

AS FOR S UTAH...SHOWER ACTIVITY DECREASING AS EXPECTED DUE TO MAIN
VORT CENTER OVER N AZ MOVG E...AND HAVE UPDATED TO REFLECT THIS.
SOUTH COULD STILL SEE SOME ACTIVITY THROUGH THE NIGHT THOUGH AS SAT
PIX INDICATE A WEAK CIRCULATION AND CLOUD TOP COOLING OVER CENTRAL/S
CNTL NV THIS EVE...POSSIBLY DUE TO SOME JET DIVERGENCE.

FORECAST PACKAGE LOOKS FINE BEYOND THE FIRST PERIOD WITH
UNSEASONABLY COLD TROUGH OVER THE REGION INTO MONDAY. NEWER RUNS
SUGGEST PERHAPS BETTER DYNAMICS IN S UTAH WITH THE MAIN TROUGH AS IT
MOVES THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT.

SLC 8667  CDC 5445  HOGAN

.SLC...SNOW ADVISORY NRN WASATCH RANGE THRU SUNDAY MORNING.

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis

When: March 17, 3:00 AM MST to March 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch

When: March 17, 3:00 AM MST to March 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder

When: March 17, 3:00 AM MST to March 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E

When: March 17, 3:00 AM MST to March 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete

When: March 17, 3:00 AM MST to March 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, W Utah T X Nw/P X E Juab

When: March 17, 3:00 AM MST to March 18, 6:00 AM MST
Where: W Utah T X Nw/P X E Juab forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

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 Utah in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, 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: 5324352, 5324353, 5324435, 5324436, 5324437, 5324438.