Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 2, 2002

Heavy snow, ranging from 7 to 11 inches in depth, fell over south-central and southeast Wisconsin. Most of the inclement weather occurred on March 2nd, although preceding light snow started at about 1900CST on March 1st, and some residual blowing and drifting snow persisted until about 0600CST on March 3rd. This was the only widespread heavy snow event of the 2001-02 winter season to affect southern Wisconsin. Accumulating snows during this event came in two waves...one during the overnight hours ending about 0700CST on March 2nd, and the other one lasting from about 1200CST to 2100CST on March 2nd. In between the two waves, some mixed precipitation, consisting of snow, sleet, and freezing rain, was observed southeast of a line from Janesville (Rock Co.) to Port Washington (Ozaukee Co.). In general, surface winds initially were out of the northeast at 10 to 20 mph, but backed to the northwest at 15 to 25 mph (occasional gusts to 30 to 35 mph) during the last half of this heavy snow event. Surface temperatures were generally in the 20s, but readings briefly rose to the lower 30s over the counties of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth in between the snow waves. Near-blizzard conditions were noted west of Madison in the counties of Sauk, Iowa, and Lafayette during the 2nd half of the heavy snow event due to the winds and falling snow, with visibilities occasionally reduced to 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Numerous indoor and outdoor activities across south-central and southeast were cancelled, and many airplane flights were delayed or cancelled. Based on newspaper accounts, at least 300 to 400 vehicle accidents occurred. Towing service owners were quoted as saying "People are running into poles, curbs, and each other." At least a dozen people needed hospital treatment due to injuries sustained in vehicle accidents (indirectly-related to this heavy snow event).Specifically, Milwaukee Mitchell Field (Milwaukee Co.) measured 11.0 of snow for the entire event, with 9.4 inches falling on March 2nd (a new daily record snowfall amount for March 2nd). Elsewhere, notable amounts include: Elkhorn (Walworth Co.) - 11 inches, Fond du Lac (Fond du Lac Co.) - 10.5 inches, Sauk City (Sauk Co.) - 10 inches, Richfield (Washington Co.) - 9.6 inches, Sun Prairie (Dane Co.) - 9.5 inches, Argyle (Lafayette Co.) - 9.5 inches, Eagle (Waukesha Co.) - 9.2 inches, and 9 inches at Milton (Rock Co.), Palmyra (Jefferson Co.), Twin Lakes (Kenosha Co), Westfield (Marquette Co.), Juneau (Dodge Co.), and Fredonia (Ozaukee Co.). Snowdrifts were reported to be 2 to 3 feet deep, especially in exposed, rural areas. Synoptically, the responsible low pressure moved from central Oklahoma to extreme southeast Wisconsin and then on to lower Michigan. In the wake of this heavy snow event, clear skies and light winds combined with the fresh snow cover to allow temperatures to drop below zero over much of south-central and southeast Wisconsin (for the 1st time since February 2001) during the overnight hours of March 3rd into March 4, 2002.