The snowstorm of March 16 to 23, 2003

The Regional Snowfall Index is NOAA’s ranking of snowstorms east of the Rockies by how much snow fell, over how wide an area and on how many people, region by region: the area and the population above four snowfall thresholds set for each region, weighted against that region’s own history. A storm is scored in each region it reached, on a scale from 1, notable, to 5, extreme.

Events

46

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Damage

$100,000

Episodes

15

Every winter weather episode the Weather Service filed east of the Rockies in these dates. A few may belong to another system on the same days. 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.

• Heavy Snow in Utah, March 16 to 18, 20036 eventsA slow moving storm really pounded the mountains with heavy snow. Some of the totals reported over the tree day period included 55 inches at Farnsworth Lake, 48 inches at the Gooseberry Ranger Station, 31 inches at Solitude, 28 inches at Brian Head and 27 inches at Brighton.
• Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 16 to 17, 20031 eventAn estimated seven to ten inches of snow fell in the city of Prairie City, where the majority of the snow fell before 2:00 AM. Areas immediately surrounding Prairie City lost power anywhere from two to 12 hours.
• Blizzard in Wyoming, March 17 to 19, 2003$100,000 · 8 eventsA powerful winter storm produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions over much of southeastWyoming over a 2 1/2 day period, closing most roads and isolating many areas. Snowfallamounts of 2 to 3 feet were reported over the Laramie Range west of Cheyenne, WY.
• Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 17 to 18, 200313 eventsA low pressure system developed over the Lee of the Rocky Mountain Region Sunday night the 16th of March. It moved intothe Plains and intensified during the early morning hours on Monday, March 17th. The system brought mainly ice to westernNorth Dakota.
• Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 17 to 19, 20034 eventsA potent winter storm slowly moved across the central Rockies and through the northern Plains. Though much of the precipitation was in the form of rain across western South Dakota, some heavy snow fell across the higher elevations of the Black Hills.
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 18, 20031 event10 inches of snow 10 miles southeast of Sheridan
• Heavy Snow in Montana, March 18, 20031 event8 inches of snow in Boyes
• Heavy Snow in Montana, March 18, 20031 event10 inches of snow 23 miles northeast of Decker
• Winter Storm in New Mexico, March 19, 20034 eventsHeavy snow of 7 to 15 inches developed across far northern New Mexico from Chama east to Taos, Red River, Raton and northern Union County. Capulin reported 6 inches of fresh snow with drifts up to 3 feet.
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 19, 20031 event13 inches of snow in Big Horn
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 19, 20031 event21 inches of snow in Story
• Heavy Snow in Wyoming, March 19, 20031 event21 inches of snow in Burgess Junction
• Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 19 to 20, 20032 eventsLight freezing rain fell in valley sections of the Poconos from the late evening of the 19th into the afternoon of the 20th. Schools had delayed openings on the 20th in Monroe County. Untreated roads were perilous.
• Winter Weather in New Jersey, March 20, 20031 eventLight freezing rain fell in the northern valleys of Sussex County from around midnight into the afternoon of the 20th. Untreated roads were perilous.
• Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 20 to 21, 20031 eventTimberline measured 8 inches of snow, Mt Hood Meadows and Tombstone Summit 6 inches each.

The snowstorm of February 27 to March 3, 2003The snowstorm of December 4 to 8, 2003Snow nowEvery winter storm filed

NOAA NCEI Regional Snowfall Index, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.