Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 24 to 25, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 24 to 25, 2001
Start: 2001-02-24T17:00
End: 2001-02-25T11:00
Location: Minnesota

February 24 to 25, 2001 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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

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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 ABR wrote it up.

Heavy snow of 9 to 11 inches fell across Big Stone and Traverse counties. Along with the heavy snow came blizzard conditions throughout the morning hours of the 25th as northwest winds increased to 25 to 45 mph. The heavy snow and blizzard conditions created difficult, if not impossible driving conditions. Also, many events were canceled or postponed. Some snowfall amounts included, 9 inches at Browns Valley, Wheaton, Clinton, Graceville and Dumont, and 11 inches at Ortonville and Artichoke Lake.

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 Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 3:10 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 3:10 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
310 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

FCST CONCERN DEALS WITH THIS EVENING THROUGH OVERNIGHT HOURS. MODELS
ARE SIMILAR IN SFC LOW POSN THROUGH 12Z SUNDAY. THE AVN IS STRONGER
ON MOISTURE FEED AHEAD OF SYSTEM INTO CWA. TAKING A QUICK LOOK AT
NEB PROFILERS...850 JET SWINGING MORE SOUTHERLY THAN SW...WHICH
WOULD MAKE SENSE LOOKING AT IR SAT LOOP. CLOUDS ADVECTING STRAIGHT
NORTH...WITH MASSIVE CLOUD TOP COOLING TAKING PLACE OVER MOST OF
CWA. KFSD AND KABR 88D'S STARTING TO GET BUSY TOWARD SCNTRL SD WITH
RETURNS GAINING STRENGTH AND AREAL COVERAGE. BY 00Z SUNDAY MODELS
SHOW 6 DEGREES C WAA AT 3H MOVING INTO CWA...AND THIS CONTS THROUGH
06Z. 7H-3H Q-VECTOR CONVERGENCE MAX'S OUT AROUND 06Z OVER ERN
SD...THEN QUICKLY DEPARTS THEREAFTER. LOOKING AT TIME
SECTIONS...BOTH ETA AND AVN SHOW STRONG LIFT OVER KATY AREA AROUND
06Z WITH DEEP RH. FOR KABR...AVN IS STRONGER WITH LIFT AT 06Z THAN
ETA...AND IS ALSO DEEPER WITH MOIST. JUDGING FROM WHAT IS CURRENTLY
HAPPENING...WILL LEAN TOWARD AVN SOLN. DECENT 7H OMEGA ALSO MOVES
FROM SWRN CWA INTO NERN CWA 00-06Z SUNDAY. 1000-850MB SPEC
HUMIDITIES ARE CLOSE TO 4 G/KG THROUGH 06Z ACROSS THE EAST...THEN
DROP QUICKLY AS LOW DEPARTS. AM SOMEWHAT CONCERNED ABOUT LOW SLOWING
DOWN AS IT BECOMES VERTICALLY STACKED OVERNIGHT. THIS MAY KEEP SNOW
GOING BIT LONGER INTO SUNDAY MORNING. ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT WINDS
DEVELOPING OVERNIGHT. KATY AREA MAY END UP BEING NEAR BLIZZARD CONDS
OVERNIGHT AS NW WINDS INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH. WINDS ARE ALREADY
INCREASING OUT WEST...AS SPOTTER IN CORSON COUNTY ALREADY REPORTING
NORTH WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH. FOR NOW...WILL CONTINUE WINTER STORM
WARNING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FOR KATY AREAS...OVERNIGHT FOR KABR
AREA AND THROUGH MIDNIGHT(06Z) FOR KPIR AREA. THINK THAT KMBG WILL
SEE SOME LIGHT SNOW...BUT FEEL THAT IT WILL BE LESS THAN ADVRY
CRITERIA. EXPECT RETURNS ON RADAR TO BEGIN TRENDING NE AS UPPER
DYNAMICS SHIFT EAST.

FOR SUNDAY...DRY AIR...CAA AND SUBSIDENCE BEGIN OUT WEST...WITH HIGH
LOW LEVEL RH STILL FOUND ACROSS THE EAST. SNOW WILL STILL BE ONGOING
FOR FAR ERN COUNTIES...BUT SHOULD END BY 18Z. WINDS WILL TURN
SOUTHERLY ALONG THE MO RIVER AHEAD OF NEXT CLIPPER SYSTEM COMING
THROUGH. NORTHERLY WINDS STILL EXPECTED ALL DAY FOR KATY AREA. THEY
MAY NEED A BS ADVRY FOR REMAINDER OF SUNDAY...BUT WILL LET MIDNIGHT
SHIFT LOOK AT.

REST OF FCST...CLIPPER SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH OVERNIGHT SUNDAY. AVN IS
WEAKER WITH SYSTEM THAN ETA. BOTH MODELS SHOW 7H THETA-E TROFS
DEVELOPING AHEAD OF SYSTEM WITH WAA. TEMPS MAY HOLD STEADY OVERNIGHT
SUNDAY...BUT FOR NOW WILL GO WITH LOWS. QPF'S ARE CENTERED IN
ND...BUT CAN'T RULE OUT A FEW FLURRIES ALONG NRN TIER COUNTIES. CAA
AND HIGH LOW LEVEL RH WILL KEEP CLOUDS AROUND FOR THE START OF THE
WORK WEEK. TEMPS DURING DAY MAY HOLD STEADY OR FALL...BUT THAT WILL
BE A CONCERN LATER. DRY AIR FINALLY BEGINS TO COME BACK INTO CWA
LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN. MONDAY
NIGHT CLOUDS SHOULD BEGIN TO ERODE WITH COOLISH TEMPS FOR
LATE FEBRUARY.

.EXTENDED FORECAST...
THE EXTENDED MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT TODAY...BUT NO
CURRENT ECMWF AVAILABLE. COLD HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE SITUATED OVER
THE NORTHERN PLAINS ON TUESDAY...AND PUSHES SOUTH OF THE REGION ON
WEDNESDAY. A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS
DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY...THEN SLOWLY SLIDES EAST THROUGH THURSDAY.
A WARM FRONT AHEAD OF A PACIFIC HIGH WILL EXTEND FROM EASTERN
MONTANA TO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE FRIDAY MORNING AND MOVES EAST DURING
THE DAY. WITH THESE COUPLE OF TROUGHS/FRONTS MOVING THROUGH...EXPECT
A DECENT WARM UP COMPARED TO THE PAST FEW WEEKS. GUIDANCE TEMPS
STILL LOOK A BIT TOO HIGH THOUGH FOR DAYTIME TEMPS...ESPECIALLY FOR
THE AMOUNT OF SNOW COVER MOST PLACES HAVE. THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY SATURDAY MORNING WITH THE PACIFIC HIGH THEN
MOVING INTO THE PLAINS. WILL CARRY A CHANCE FOR SOME LIGHT SNOW WITH
THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...THOUGH IT DOES< NOT LOOK LIKE MUCH AT THIS TIME.

.ABR...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FAR ERN CWA.
       WINTER STORM WARNING OVERNIGHT NERN CWA.
       WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH 06Z SOUTH CENTRAL CWA.

HINTZ/PARKIN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Big Stone

When: February 24, 5:00 PM CST to February 25, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Big Stone forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.426, -96.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Traverse

When: February 24, 5:00 PM CST to February 25, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Traverse forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 Minnesota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5234573, 5234574.