Minnesota, 2001

Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 7 to 9, 2001

February 7 to 9, 2001 · NWS DLH · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

5 inches near Duluth, 8 inches at Sandstone, and 10 inches in Brainerd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
7

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 strong winter storm dropped heavy snow in a swath roughly from Brainerd to Duluth, resulting in 13.5 inches near Duluth, 8 inches at Sandstone, and 10 inches in Brainerd.

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 Feb 7, 10:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 10:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
1045 AM CST WED FEB 7 2001

FORECAST CONCERNS REVOLVE AROUND SNOW POTENTIAL.

SNOW MOVING NORTH THIS MORNING...AND SHOULD OVERTAKE SOUTHERN HALF
OF CWA THIS AFTERNOON.

COMBINATION OF WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE DAKOTAS...GOOD ISENTROPIC LIFT
AND DIVERGENCE WITH JET PROVIDING AMPLE LIFT. IT/S JUST TAKING A
BIT OF TIME TO SATURATE AIRMASS...ALTHOUGH SATELLITE IMAGERY AND VWP
ARE SHOWING CLOUDS THICKENING AND LOWERING. BASED ON NEW GUIDANCE
AND CURRENT SITUATION...WILL ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR
SOUTHERN GROUP OF COUNTIES INTO THURSDAY MORNING. ETA/S QPF AND
ISENTROPIC DATA SUGGEST 3 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE. MODELS IN
DISAGREEMENT ON QPF FIELDS...ESPECIALLY TOMORROW. ETA IS LIGHTEST
AND NGM THE SNOWIEST. WILL GO OVER DATA IN BETTER DETAIL THIS
AFTERNOON AS IT COMES IN. MAY HAVE TO UPGRADE WATCH AND ADVISORY TO
WARNINGS.

CUT TEMPERATURES A TAD BASED ON CURRENT READINGS AND FACT CLOUD
CONTINUES TO THICKEN

COORD WITH MPX...GRB AND FGF.

.DLH...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE PERIPHERY OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR
       THURSDAY.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MNZ025-033<038-WIZ006w<009 THIS
       AFTERNOON INTO THURSDAY MORNING.

MELDE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Cass

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Northern Cass forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cass

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Southern Cass forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Crow Wing

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Crow Wing forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.482, -94.071 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Aitkin

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Northern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Aitkin

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Southern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Southern St. Louis / Carlton forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.091, -92.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pine

When
February 7, 12:00 PM CST to February 9, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Pine forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.121, -92.741 (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: 5234654, 5234655, 5234656, 5234657, 5234658, 5234659, 5234660.