Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 27, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 27, 2003
Start: 2003-03-27T01:00
End: 2003-03-27T15:00
Location: Minnesota

March 27, 2003 · NWS DLH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A narrow band of heavy snow fell from northeastern Koochiching County into far northwestern St. Louis County.

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

A narrow band of heavy snow fell from northeastern Koochiching County into far northwestern St. Louis County. Snow amounts ranged from 6 to 12 inches. International Falls had 9 inches while Ranier had 12 inches of snow.

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 26, 9:28 PM CST, 3 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 26, 9:28 PM CST, 3 hours 32 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
930 PM CST MAR 26 2003

VORT MAX ENTERING NWRN MN LOOKS RATHER IMPRESSIVE. WAA AHEAD OF THAT
FEATURE SENDING TEMPS INTO THE 40S WITH DEW POINTS ABOVE FREEZING.
SO SOME SHOWERS HAVE PERSISTED IN WRN MN. ISENTROPIC 290K SFC SHOWS
PRETTY GOOD ASCENT OVR N-C MN, BUT SFC TEMP DEW POINT SPREADS ARE
KEEPING PCPN ALOFT. SOME DEW POINTS IN THE ARROWHEAD ARE STILL IN
THE TEENS, ALTHOUGH DEW POINTS HAVE BEEN RISING ON THE WRN BORDER
OF THE DULUTH CWA. HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, THE RESULT IS THAT WE
MOVED BACK THE ONSET TIME FOR THE PCPN AND RAISED THE OVERNIGHT
LOWS A BIT IN THE INL-BRD AREA DUE TO THE WAA.

.DLH...WINT STORM WATCH THU NIGHT AND FRI FOR NWRN WI ZONES
       WIZ002>004-007>009.

CS

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 26, 7:00 AM CST, 18 hours before

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-271330-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
700 AM CST WED MAR 26 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A MAJOR SPRING STORM WILL BE SHAPING UP OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS
TODAY AND THURSDAY. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BRING HEAVY
SNOWFALL TO THE NORTHERN WISCONSIN STARTING LATE THURSDAY AND LASTING
INTO THE WEEKEND. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH WILL
CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE IMPENDING STORM...AND UPDATE YOU AS
THE STORM APPROACHES.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL:

HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/DLH

BERDES

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Koochiching

When: March 27, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Koochiching forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.245, -93.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern St. Louis

When: March 27, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Northern St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (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 Minnesota in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, March 2003

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: 5346126, 5346127.