Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 7 to 8, 2002

Name: Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 7 to 8, 2002
Start: 2002-03-07T22:00
End: 2002-03-08T06:00
Location: Wisconsin

March 7 to 8, 2002 · NWS GRB · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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 GRB wrote it up.

Warm and moist air that moved into Wisconsin ahead of a low pressure system over the central plains spread snow over north central Wisconsin and freezing rain over central and northeast Wisconsin. Snowfall totals were highest in Vilas county with 10.4 inches at Winchester, 9.3 inches 4 miles southwest of Presque Isle and 9.0 inches at Presque Isle. The freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to fall, knocking out power to around 3,300 customers, mainly around Marinette (Marinette co.).

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 Green Bay, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 7, 3:15 PM CST, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 7, 3:15 PM CST, 6 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
315 PM CST THU MAR 7 2002

FIRST CHALLENGE WILL BE ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO TNT/S HEADLINES...THEN
POSSIBLY MORE HEADLINES FOR AT LEAST THE NW PORTION OF THE CWA AGAIN
FRIDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY.

LATEST MODEL DATA SUPPORTS CURRENT HEADLINES FOR TNT.  QUESTION IS FOR
AN ADVISORY HEADLINE FOR EC WI.  RADARS INDICATED LITTLE GOING ON FOR
AREAS TO THE SOUTH THIS AFTN...HOWEVER SFC DATA SHOWS INCREASING DPTS IN
THE 50/S MOVG NWD OVR MO...SO PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL EVENTUALLY WORK
NWD OVERNIGHT.  AIRMASS OVER THE REGION DRIER AND SLIGHTLY COLDER THAN
PROGGED...AND AS A RESULT EXPECT A SLOWER CHANGE TO RAIN OVR EC WI TNT
BLR H8 PROFILER ALREADY OBSERVING A S/SW WIND.

ELEVATED ISOLD TSRA PSBL TNT OVER AT LEAST THE SOUTH HALF OF THE CWA AS
LLJ DEVELOPS WITH WAA.  EVEN A BETTER SHOT OF TSRA FOR LATER FRIDAY INTO
FRIDAY NIGHT AS DEEPER MOISTURE IS ADVECTED INTO THE AREA AS SYSTEM IS
EJECTED INTO THE NRN GRTLKES RGN.

WILL TONE DOWN PCPN FRIDAY AS MODELS INDICATE A GOOD SEPARATION BETWEEN
THE WAA EVENT TNT AND THEN THE SYSTEM FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND EARLY
SATURDAY.

FOR FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY...THE POTENTIAL EXITS FOR SECOND
BOUT OF FREEZING TYPE OF PCPN OR A SNOW/FREEZING MIX FOR NC WI.
AVBL 12Z MODEL INFORMATION SUGGESTS A HALF INCH OF WATER EQUIVALENT
FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.  AVN MODEL DATA INDICATES SFC TEMPS WILL BE
AT OR BELOW FREEZING FOR NC WI.  WHILE 12Z NGM DATA SUGGEST A RAIN TO
SNOW CHANGEOVER WITH AT LEAST ADVSRY AMTS.  SINCE THERE APPEARS TO BE A
FAIRLY LONG BREAK OR DIMINISHED PCPN FOR FRIDAY...HAVE POSTED A ANOTHER
WATCH FOR THE SECOND WAVE OF PCPN FOR NC WI IN ADDITION TO THE CURRENT
HEADLINES.

COORD WITH MQT...DLH...MKE.

.GRB...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT
       WIZ005-010>013-018-019-021-073-

       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT
       WIZ020-030-031-035>039-045-048-049-074-

       WINTER STORM WATCH FRIDAY NIGHT
       WIZ005-010-018-

HELMAN
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/GRB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 ice storm, 6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Vilas

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Vilas forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.053, -89.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Oneida

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Oneida forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 45.706, -89.522 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Forest

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Forest forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.667, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Florence

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Florence forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.848, -88.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.338, -89.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Langlade

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Langlade forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.262, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Marinette

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Marinette forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.351, -88.002 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Menominee

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Menominee forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 45.004, -88.710 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Oconto

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Oconto forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.999, -88.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Marathon

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Marathon forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.898, -89.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Shawano

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Shawano forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.789, -88.765 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Wood

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Wood forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 44.455, -90.042 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Portage

When: March 7, 10:00 PM CST to March 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Portage forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.476, -89.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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, 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: 5285155, 5285156, 5285157, 5285158, 5285159, 5285160, 5285161, 5285162, 5285163, 5285164, 5285165, 5285166, 5285167.