Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 13 to 14, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 13 to 14, 2002
Start: 2002-03-13T04:30
End: 2002-03-14T15:00
Location: Wyoming

March 13 to 14, 2002 · NWS CYS · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 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 Cheyenne, WY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 13, 2:28 AM MST, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 2:28 AM MST, 2 hours 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
228 AM MST WED MAR 13 2002

INTERESTING WEATHER SITUATION TO DEVELOP TODAY/TONIGHT ACROSS THE
REGION. A SURFACE COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY PUSHING SOUTHWARD ACROSS
EAST CENTRAL WY AND THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE NEB PANHANDLE AND
SHOULD CLEAR MOST OF THE CWA BY 12Z. POSTFRONTAL LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE
FLOW WILL MOISTEN LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AS STRONG AND MOIST
WEST SOUTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES ALOFT. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL
DEVELOP IN EASTERN CO TODAY AND WILL STRENGTHEN TONIGHT TO PRODUCE
AN OVERRUNNING SITUATION AS THE MOIST FLOW ALOFT RISES OVER THE LOW
LEVEL COLD AIR. TO FURTHER ADD TO THE MIX...FAVORABLE JET DYNAMICS
COME INTO PLAY TODAY INTO TONIGHT AS THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF
300 MB JET MOVES OVER THE AREA...WHICH WILL INCREASE UPPER
DIFFLUENCE. MODELS GENERALLY SIMILAR IN PROGGING A SWATH OF SNOW
ACROSS SOUTHEAST WY AND THE WESTERN NEB PANHANDLE TODAY AND
TONIGHT...WITH THE GENERAL BULLSEYE ACROSS THE NORTHERN LARAMIE
RANGE...CONVERSE AND NIOBRARA COUNTIES IN WY...AND THE NORTHERN
PORTION OF THE NEB PANHANDLE. DGW AND CPR ALREADY REPORTING LIGHT
SNOW AND THIS SNOW SHOULD INTENSIFY AND PROPAGATE EASTWARD TODAY AND
TONIGHT. IMPRESSIVE QPF AMOUNTS ARE PROGGED. AFTER MUCH DELIBERATION
AS WELL AS COORDINATION WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES...WILL ISSUE A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR THE NORTHERN LARAMIE
RANGE...CONVERSE AND NIOBRARA COUNTIES IN WY. LESSER SNOWFALL
AMOUNTS ARE PROGGED FURTHER SOUTH...SO WILL ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR NORTHERN CARBON COUNTY...THE
SNOWY RANGE AND SOUTHERN LARAMIE RANGE...AND PLATTE AND GOSHEN
COUNTIES IN WY. SNOWFALL EVENT WILL AFFECT THE NEB PANHANDLE
SOMEWHAT LATER AND WILL ISSUE A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF THE WESTERN NEB
PANHANDLE. EVENT SHOULD GRADUALLY DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST THU AS
THE SURFACE LOW PULLS AWAY FROM THE CYS CWA AND STRONGER COLD AIR
ADVECTION SETS IN. TEMPERATURES THU WILL BE IN THE 20S AND
30S...COLDER THAN THOSE EXPECTED TODAY. WILL PUT LOW POPS IN EASTERN
CWA THU NIGHT AS MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS LINGER. FRI LOOKS PARTLY TO
MOSTLY CLOUDY AND CONTINUED COOL BUT MAINLY DRY. WILL MAKE NO MAJOR
REVISIONS TO THE CURRENT EXTENDED PORTION OF THE FORECAST.

.CYS...
WY...WINTER STORM WARNING  TODAY AND TONIGHT  EAST CENTRAL
     ZONES 59..60..64.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY  TODAY AND TONIGHT  PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST
     ZONES 62..63..66>68.
NE...WINTER STORM WATCH  LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT  MOST OF PANHANDLE
     ZONES 1>3..19>21.

JR

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. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Converse / Converse Except X S

When: March 13, 4:30 AM MST to March 14, 3:00 PM MST
Where: Converse / Converse Except X S forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.841, -104.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow fell across a swath of southeast Wyoming from near Rawlins to Lusk. Lusk was buried under 24 to 26 inches of snow, which caused a drive-in canopy to collapse.Douglas, WY reported around 18 inches of snowfall while Rawlins and Shirley Basin recorded12 to 15 inches. Many roads in the area were closed for over 24 hours.

Winter Storm, Niobrara

When: March 13, 4:30 AM MST to March 14, 3:00 PM MST
Where: Niobrara forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 44.589, -104.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, North Carbon

When: March 13, 4:30 AM MST to March 14, 3:00 PM MST
Where: North Carbon forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Winter Storm, Southwest Carbon

When: March 13, 4:30 AM MST to March 14, 3:00 PM MST
Where: Southwest Carbon forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

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 Wyoming in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wyoming, 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: 5284721, 5284722, 5284723, 5284724.