Minnesota, 2001

Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 23 to 24, 2001

February 23 to 24, 2001 · NWS MPX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A storm system that developed across eastern Colorado on the evening of the 23rd, moved into central Nebraska by Saturday afternoon, on the 24th. Instability ahead of this system dumped snow, measured mainly in the four to five inch range across much of West Central, and East central Minnesota.

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 MPX wrote it up.

A storm system that developed across eastern Colorado on the evening of the 23rd, moved into central Nebraska by Saturday afternoon, on the 24th. Instability ahead of this system dumped snow, measured mainly in the four to five inch range across much of West Central, and East central Minnesota. A snow report of note was 7.0 inches in Milaca. Snow drifts reached into the three, to five foot range in some areas.

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 23, 3:15 PM CST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 3:15 PM CST, 5 hours 45 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

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, Benton

When
February 23, 9:00 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Benton forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.699, -93.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Mille Lacs

When
February 23, 9:00 PM CST to February 24, 9:00 AM CST
Where
Mille Lacs forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.938, -93.630 (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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, February 2001

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: 5232208, 5232209.