Minnesota, 2001

Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 7 to 8, 2001

February 7 to 8, 2001 · NWS FSD · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Snow changed to freezing rain and freezing drizzle, then back to snow. There was considerable icing on roads and other surfaces, causing several vehicles to slide off roads.

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 FSD wrote it up.

Snow changed to freezing rain and freezing drizzle, then back to snow. There was considerable icing on roads and other surfaces, causing several vehicles to slide off roads. New snowfall of 2 to 4 inches combined with already existing snow cover and strong winds to cause blowing and drifting snow, with the drifting snow closing several roads. Travel was disrupted, and the openings of some schools and businesses were delayed.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 7, 3:45 AM CST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 3:45 AM CST, 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
345 AM CST WED FEB 7 2001

MAIN ADJ TO PREV FCST BASED ON CURRENT RADARS...SATELLITE...AND
MODELS IS TO SHIFT IMMEDIATE WRNGS TDA AND TNGT TO N AND FAR W IN
CWA WHERE BEST LIFT AND SATURATION IS. MOST SNOW TDA SHOULD BE MID
LVL MOISTURE AND LIFT. HOWEVER...FULLY EXPCT MAIN DYNAMICS AND
MOISTURE INFLOW SHOULD AFFECT AREAS FURTHER S AND E IN CWA LATER
TNGT THRU THU...AND PSBLY INTO THU NGT AS MAIN UPR LOW FM SW TAPS
INTO GULF MOISTURE...WITH A MUCH BTR SETUP THAN ANEMIC ETA. TIMING
AND EXACT PLACEMENT OF HEAVY SNOW IN LATER PERIOD STILL A QUESTION...
BUT FEEL IT IS WORTH A WATCH CONSIDERING THE POTENTIAL. BASICALLY
SLOWED SEWD PROGRESSION DOWN SOME FM PREV FCST THRU FCST PERIOD.

.FSD...WINTER STORM WRNG TDA THRU TNGT BASICALLY ALG AND N OF LN FM
       CHB TO MHE TO MML
    ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR REMAINDER OF SWRN MN...SERN SD...
       NWRN IA...FAR NERN NE FOR LATE TNGT AND THU

RSR

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, Lincoln

When
February 7, 4:00 AM CST to February 8, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.413, -96.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When
February 7, 4:00 AM CST to February 8, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.414, -95.839 (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

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: 5233259, 5233260.