Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 25 to 26, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 25 to 26, 2002
Start: 2002-02-25T20:00
End: 2002-02-26T13:00
Location: Wisconsin

February 25 to 26, 2002 · NWS DLH · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Lake effect snow dumped 9 inches of snow at Ashland, while 7 inches of snow fell at Bayfield, Iron River, and Gurney.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 DLH wrote it up.

Lake effect snow dumped 9 inches of snow at Ashland, while 7 inches of snow fell at Bayfield, Iron River, and Gurney.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 2:30 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 2:30 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-260830-

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
230 PM CST MON FEB 25 2002

FOCUS TONIGHT IS ON SNOW BELT IN NWRN WI.

CLOUDS STREETS CONTINUING OVR LK SUPR ARE A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME.
LGT SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE AND WILL INCRS AS COLD ADVTN AT 850 MB
WORKS EWD WITH THE UPR TROF. LAKE EFFECT SNOW IS AN OBVIOUS RESULT...
BUT ITS STRENGTH WILL DEPEND ON ANY SYNOPTIC ENERGY IT CAN TAP. NLY
FETCH AND DELTA T VALUES OF 16 TO 18 DEGREES ARE FAVORABLE FOR
HEAVY SNOW TAPPING THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. THE CONCERN FOR DOUGLAS
COUNTY...EAST OF SUPERIOR IS THAT PROGS ALL SHOW AN AREA OF NVA
ESTABLASHED THERE. ONE SHORT WAVE HEADS NORTHEAST ACROSS NRN MN...
AND ANOTHER SLIDES E THRU N-C WI. THIS LEAVES THE HEAD OF THE LAKE
IN A SITUATION WHERE HEAVY SNOW WOULD BE LOCALIZED IN THE EASTERN
PTN. DULUTH AND SUPERIOR SHOULD NOT GET AS MUCH. THEREFORE, WORDING
WILL BE ALL IMPORTANT SO AS NOT TO OVER DO THIS SITUATION.

DRY AIR WORKS IN FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE TNGT...BUT RESIDUAL SNOW
SHWRS WILL CONTINUE IN THE SNOWBELT ON TUESDAY. TUESDAY NIGHT
SHOULD SEE FLURRIES END AS THE DRY AIR AND SUBSIDENCE TURN IT OFF.
THEN WITH A FRESH SNOW PACK AND CLEAR SKIES LOOK FOR A CHILLY NIGHT
TUESDAY NIGHT.

ANOTHER COLD FRONT DROPS SOUTH LATE WEDNESDAY WITH MORE LIGHT SNOW
ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...MAINLY IN NRN MN.

.DLH...LAKE SNOW WARNING...ERN DOUGLAS...ALL OF BAYFIELD...ASHLAND...
      AND IRON COUNTIES (WIZ001-004) TONIGHT AND TUESDAY.

CS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Bayfield

When: February 25, 8:00 PM CST to February 26, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Bayfield forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.635, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ashland

When: February 25, 8:00 PM CST to February 26, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Ashland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.510, -90.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iron

When: February 25, 8:00 PM CST to February 26, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.317, -90.264 (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

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, February 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: 5283151, 5283152, 5283153.