Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 7 to 9, 2002

Name: Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 7 to 9, 2002
Start: 2002-03-07T15:00
End: 2002-03-09T16:00
Location: Wisconsin

March 7 to 9, 2002 · NWS DLH · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

The storm started out as freezing rain which continued for most of the night with accumulations of 1/8" to 1/2" of glaze. By early morning the freezing rain changed to snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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.

The storm started out as freezing rain which continued for most of the night with accumulations of 1/8" to 1/2" of glaze. By early morning the freezing rain changed to snow. Snow accumulations ranged from 6 to 14 inches. The Bayfield area had 9 inches of snow while Cornucopia had 14 inches.

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 Mar 7, 2:56 PM CST, 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 7, 2:56 PM CST, 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
256 PM CST THU MAR 7 2002

MAIN FORECAST PROBLEMS ARE PRECIP TYPES IN NW WI THRU FRI NIGHT...AND SNOW
AMOUNTS ACROSS REST OF CWA TNGT AND FRI NIGHT. MODELS DIFFERING WITH MAIN
FOCUS OF PRECIP AND AMOUNT OF WAA...WHICH WILL PLAY A BIG ROLL IN NW WIS WX.
FOLLOWED ETA AT FIRST SINCE AVN WAS RUNNING SO LATE...BUT NEW MESOETA HAS
SHIFTED MAIN PRECIP INTO NW WI...SIMILAR TO THE 12Z AVN. THIS IS PANNING OUT
WITH BEST ISENTROPIC LIFT AND WITH MIXING RATIOS OF AT LEAST 4 G/KG BEING
ADVECTED IN. SO HAVE ADJUST THINKING FOR THE N-NW CWA. WITH LOWER QPFS FOR
THIS AREA AND MAIN LIFT TO THE SE...WILL DROP THE ADVISORY FOR INL...AND
DOWNGRADE IRON RANGES WARNING TO AN ADVISORY. LEFT THE WARNING UP FOR REST OF
CWA FOR TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH WILL NOT EXTEND IT INTO FRIDAY AS LIFT PULLS OFF AND
WE SEE A BREAK UNTIL EVENING...WHEN ROUND 2 BEGINS.

WAA SNOW BANDS CONTAINING BIG FLAKES HAVE BEEN MOVING THRU DURING THE
AFTERNOON. ACCUMULATIONS SO FAR SEEM TO BE AN INCH OR TWO. BFW HAS HAD 2.5 SO
FAR...THANKS TO EAST WINDS PROVIDING SOME EXTRA LIFT. THIS WILL ALSO HELP
OUT IN PRODUCING EXTRA AMOUNTS AROUND DLH/SUW AND UP THE NORTH SHORE TNGT. SO
WARNING STILL LOOKING GOOD FOR HERE...AS WELL AS REST OF SRN CWA FOR TNGT. ALL
MODELS DO AGREE ON GIVING US A BREAK TOMORROW AS FIRST WAVE MOVES OFF...AND
DRIER AIR AND SOME NVA WORK IN LATE TNGT AND DURING THE MORNING. MORE PRECIP
SPREADS IN AHEAD OF NEXT WAVE BY EVENING. ETA STILL COOLER THAN AVN...RESULTING
IN DIFFERENCES AS TO HOW MUCH FREEZING RAIN THERE WILL BE. LEFT IT A MIX FOR
NOW AND EXTENDED IT A COUNTY FURTHER WEST. ANY MIX SHOULD END BY LATE FRIDAY
NIGHT WITH GOOD CAA. DEFORMATION AREA TO BRING MORE SNOW TO THE WEST OVERNIGHT
FRIDAY NIGHT...AND EASTERN SECTIONS ON SATURDAY. LOW AND MOISTURE PULL OFF
QUICKLY...SO HOPEFULLY AMOUNTS WILL BE LIMITED AS NVA/DRIER AIR MOVE IN.

GUIDANCE TEMPS IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT AND SEEM REASONABLE. CAA WILL
KEEP TEMPS COOL ON SATURDAY.

COORD WITH MPX AND GRB...THANKS

.DLH...
   CANCELING ADVISORY FOR INTERNATIONAL FALLS AREA (MNZ010-011).
   SNOW ADVISORY FOR IRON RANGE AREA TO GNA(MNZ012-018-019-021-026) TONIGHT.
   WINTER STORM WARNING FOR REST OF DLH CWA TONIGHT.

TAP

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter storm, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Douglas

When: March 7, 3:00 PM CST to March 8, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.464, -91.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bayfield

When: March 8, 9:00 PM CST to March 9, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Bayfield forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.635, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ashland

When: March 8, 11:00 PM CST to March 9, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Ashland forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.510, -90.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Iron

When: March 8, 11:00 PM CST to March 9, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.317, -90.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Price

When: March 8, 11:00 PM CST to March 9, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Price forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.680, -90.361 (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.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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: 5284626, 5284627, 5284628, 5284629, 5284630.