Winter Storm, Big Stone
- When
- February 7, 7:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 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 in Minnesota, February 7 to 8, 2001
Heavy snow of 7 to 9 inches fell across Big Stone and Traverse counties, closing schools and making driving difficult, if not impossible. Some snowfall amounts included, 7 inches at Wheaton, 8 inches at Artichoke Lake, and 9 inches at Browns Valley.
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
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 7 to 9 inches fell across Big Stone and Traverse counties, closing schools and making driving difficult, if not impossible. Some snowfall amounts included, 7 inches at Wheaton, 8 inches at Artichoke Lake, and 9 inches at Browns Valley.
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 7, 3:15 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 3:15 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 315 AM CST WED FEB 7 2001 WILL CONT WITH W.S. WRNGS TODAY AND TNGT FOR ENTIRE CWA. VRY IMPRSV SYS WITH 180 M HGT FALLS LAST EVENING IN NV...YOU CANT GET MUCH BETTER THAN THAT! STG SFC LO IN CO WITH TREMENDOUS WAA AND LIFT AS STG LLJ IMPEDES ON IMPRSV BAROCLINIC ZONE. ALRDY SFC DWPTS IN THE MID 50S IN NRN TX AND LOW 60S IN SRN TX. WETZEL FORECAST INGREDIENTS METHOD INDICATES STG QG FORCING TODAY ALONG WITH SPEC HUMIDITIES OF BETTER THAN 2 G/KG. GARCIA METHOD INDICATES MULT BY 4 WITH STG FORCING. THIS GIVES 8 INCHES IN 12 HRS WITH MORE SNOW BEYOND THAT. KABR DOPPLER ALRDY SHWG GREATER THAN 24 DBZ OVR MUCH OF THE CWA AND KNOCKING ON THE DOOR AT ABR. CALLS TO SHERIFFS INDICATE HVY SNOW FALLING IN THESE HVR BANDS. TOP DOWN APPROACH SHOWS THIS SYSTEM TO FEATURE OPTIMUM ICE CRYSTAL GROWTH WITH SATURATION OCRG AT -20C OR COLDER...FALLING INTO LOWER LEVELS. THIS INDICATES VERY EFFICIENT PCPN MACHINE TODAY AND TNGT. ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER IS POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSNOWS WITH LI LESS THAN ZERO IN THE CNTL PLNS. HAVE SEEN LTG STRIKES IN THE CNTL RCKYS EARLIER. ADDING TO ALL THIS WILL BE COLD SFC TMPS IN THE TEENS FOR A 15:1 OR 20:1 SNOW/WATER RATIO. THUS GOING WITH 8-12 INCHES MOST OF CWA XCPT 5-8 INCHES IN THE MBG CUT WITH LOWER SPEC HUMIDITIES. SNOW SHD WIND DOWN LATER TNGT AND ESP THURS BUT MAIN SFC LOW STILL TO TRACK INTO THE MIDWEST. APPEARS THIS WILL STAY FAR ENUF TO THE E TO KEEP US OUT OF IT...BUT WILL KEEP AN EYE ON IT. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY...STG WINDS 20-30 MPH AND DRY NATURE TO SNOW WILL B<E BLOWN ARND EASILY. TMPS GDNC LOOKS SIMILAR AND FOLLOWED. COORD WITH MPX/FSD/RAP/GFK/BIS...THANX. .ABR...WINTER STORM WARNING ENTIRE CWA TODAY INTO TONIGHT. JH
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Traverse
- When
- February 7, 7:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 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
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 7, 2001
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Ice Storm and Winter Weather in Iowa, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 7 to 8, 2001
- High Wind in California, February 7, 2001
- Ice Storm in Iowa, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Winter Storm in Michigan, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 7 to 9, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 7, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 7 to 8, 2001
- Blizzard in Alaska, February 7 to 9, 2001
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: 5234549, 5234550.