A narrow band of convectively-induced snow near the center of an upper level low pressure system brought heavy snow to a small area near Ritzville. The town of Ritzville picked up 6 inches of snow in this event.
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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 OTX wrote it up.
A narrow band of convectively-induced snow near the center of an upper level low pressure system brought heavy snow to a small area near Ritzville. The town of Ritzville picked up 6 inches of snow in this event.
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 7, 8:30 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
830 PM PST THU MAR 7 2002
EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON A DISTURBANCE COULD BE SEEN ON THE SATELLITE
PICTURE JUST OFF THE WEST COAST OF WASHINGTON. THIS NOW IS MOVING
OVER THE EASTERN BASIN AND HAS RESULTED IN SOME SNOW SHOWERS
SPREADING ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING. EARLIER SNOW FELL AT
ELLENSBURG AND THEN MOSES LAKE. RADAR INDICATES SOME OF THE ACTIVITY
NOW IN A NORTH-SOUTH LINE THROUGH ABOUT THE RITZVILLE AREA. THIS
DISTURBANCE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST THROUGH THE EVENING AND NIGHT.
THIS IS NOT THE MAJOR SYSTEM EXPECTED TO BRING ADVISORY TYPE SNOW TO
THE NORTHEAST AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE TONIGHT. CIRCULATION OF THIS
SYSTEM COULD BE SEEN OVER VANCOUVER ISLAND EARLIER AND NOW APPEARS TO
BE OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON. THIS IS STILL EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER
MAINLY THE NORTHERN PART OF THE CWA STARTING TONIGHT. LOOKS LIKE THE
SYSTEM WILL BE A LITTLE LATER STARTING AND EXTEND ON THROUGH THE
MORNING HOURS IN THE EAST. A SNOW ADVISORY REMAINS IN AFFECT FOR
NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE. ALSO A WINTER STORM
WARNING CONTINUES FOR IDAHO ZONE 4. TEMPERATURES RUNNING VERY SIMILAR
TO LAST NIGHT FOR MOST AREAS. ALTHOUGH WE WILL BE CLOSE TO THE RECORD
LOW TEMPERATURE OF 14 DEGREES AT SPOKANE EXPECTED AT THIS TIME WE
WILL MISS IT BY A DEGREE OR TWO. WILL UPDATE SOME OF THE ZONES TO
CLEAN UP THE WORDING FOR THE FIRST PERIOD AND ALSO CONTINUE TO SNOW
THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS FOR MOST OF THE ZONES IN THE NORTHEAST.
...THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRODUCT CONCERNING WARNINGS AND FORECASTS
IS VALID ONLY AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE. THE LATEST WARNING AND
FORECAST INFORMATION WILL BE FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PRODUCTS...
GEG 016/031/023/040/034/040 644663
COE 015/030/021/038/033/037 654664
PUW 019/035/024/043/034/041 423664
LWS 026/039/030/049/038/048 311244
CQV 020/036/022/038/032/038 854665
SPT 014/028/018/035/031/035 854665
WWP 018/029/019/034/029/033 885665
EAT 022/041/026/041/034/046 204653
MWH 023/042/025/045/035/047 304663
.OTX...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH FRIDAY FOR THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE
MOUNTAINS.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE...
NORTHEAST WASHINGTON...AND OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, 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: 5287243.