Minnesota, 2001

Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 7, 2001

February 7, 2001 · NWS MPX · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

A warm front thrusting east from a surface low pressure system moving through eastern Colorado, was responsible for dumping snow totals generally in the 6 to 7 inch range across portions of East central, West central and South central Minnesota. 0 inches).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 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
16

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 warm front thrusting east from a surface low pressure system moving through eastern Colorado, was responsible for dumping snow totals generally in the 6 to 7 inch range across portions of East central, West central and South central Minnesota. Some locations which saw some of the heaviest accumulations included: Montgomery (8.0 inches), Redwood Falls (8.0 inches), Olivia (7.3 inches), Dawson (7.0 inches). Numerous automobile accidents were reported throughout the region.

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 7, 3:30 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 3:30 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
330 AM CST WED FEB 7 2001

LIGHT SNOW HAS TAPERED OFF WITH WEAKENING ISENTROPIC LIFT.  SOME
FREEZING DRIZZLE HAS DEVELOPED WITH WEAKENED DYNAMIC LIFT.  THE
MAIN PROBLEM TODAY IS THE RISK OF FREEZING PRECIPITATION IN SRN MN
AND W CENTRAL WI. BASED ON THICKNESS FORECAST FOR AVN AND ETA AND
COORDINATION...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUE FOR A SERN
PORTION OF FORECAST AREA.

MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING STRONG MOIST SRLY FLOW TO THE FORECAST AREA
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO FRIDAY.  IT APPEARS THE LOW/TROUGH OVER
SRN CA HAS A STRONGER UPSTREAM JET AND IS BEGINNING TO EJECT NEWRD.
MODELS DIFFER ON TIMING...ESPECIALLY IN 24 TO 30 HOUR PERIOD.  THE
TREND SEEMS TO BE SLOWER WITH EACH RUN...SO SLOWER AVN SOLUTION IS
PREFERRED.  THIS MEANS A POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN ERN MN
AND WRN WI.  THE WINTER STORM WATCH WILL REMAIN FOR TONIGHT DUE TO
SLOWER TIMING...WITH NO HEADLINES DURING THE DAY...EXCEPT THE
PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED ADVISORY.  WITH THE NRN STREAM TROUGH MORE SNOW
IS LIKELY IN CENTRAL AND WRN MN...AN ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT
FOR BLOWING SNOW AS WIND INCREASES WITH TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT.

THE REST OF THE FORECAST REMAINS THE SAME WITH THE TIMING OF THE
EJECTING TROUGHS.  TEMPERATURES SHOULD PLUNGE AS THE LOW MOVES
EAST...BUT CONSIDERABLE WRAP-AROUND...ESPECIALLY IN WRN WI.

.MSP...WINTER WEATHER PART OF S CENTRAL MN AND EAU CLAIRE AND PEPIN
       COUNTIES IN WI
       WINTER STORM WATCH FOR S AND E CENTRAL MN AND W CENTRAL WI
       TONIGHT...
 SCOTT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Brown

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.242, -94.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Carver

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Carver forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.821, -93.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chippewa

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.022, -95.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dakota

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Dakota forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.672, -93.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Goodhue

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Goodhue forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.410, -92.723 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hennepin

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Hennepin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.005, -93.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lac Qui Parle

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Lac Qui Parle forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.996, -96.173 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Le Sueur

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.371, -93.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, McLeod

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
McLeod forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.824, -94.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Nicollet

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Nicollet forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.350, -94.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Redwood

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Redwood forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.404, -95.254 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Renville

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Renville forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.727, -94.947 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rice

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Rice forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.354, -93.297 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Scott

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.649, -93.536 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sibley

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Sibley forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.580, -94.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Yellow Medicine

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Yellow Medicine forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.716, -95.868 (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: 5232104, 5232105, 5232106, 5232107, 5232108, 5232109, 5232110, 5232111, 5232195, 5232196, 5232197, 5232198, 5232199, 5232200, 5232201, 5232202.