Minnesota, 2001

Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 8 to 9, 2001

February 8 to 9, 2001 · NWS ARX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Freezing rain caused widespread 1/4 to 1/2 inch accumulations of ice, before changing to snow. Snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches were common, which only added to the already hazardous traveling conditions.

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 ARX wrote it up.

Freezing rain caused widespread 1/4 to 1/2 inch accumulations of ice, before changing to snow. Snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches were common, which only added to the already hazardous traveling conditions. In addition, strong northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph caused considerable blowing and drifting snow, creating near blizzard conditions.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 8, 3:40 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 3:40 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
340 PM CST THU FEB 8 2001

MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE PRECIPITATION TYPES AND AMOUNTS...AND WINDS.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS HAD A WARM FRONT TO NEAR THE
WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS BORDER BY 3 PM. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE FORECAST
AREA RANGED FROM THE UPPER 20S NORTH TO 34 IN THE FAR SOUTH. KARX
RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING ACROSS THE AREA. KDMX RADAR
HAD A BROAD AREA OF PRECIPITATION ALREADY INTO CENTRAL IOWA...
SPREADING TO THE NORTHEAST. LIGHTNING DATA SHOWED A COUPLE OF
STRIKES IN THE FAR SOUTHERN COUNTIES. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWED
STRONG UPPER LEVEL CIRCULATION IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA...STARTING TO
TURN TO THE NORTHEAST. STRONG MOISTURE PLUME COMING OFF THE EASTERN
PACIFIC STRAIGHT NORTH INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST.

ETA MODEL SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN SLOWING TO AVN SOLUTION OVER THE PAST
FEW RUNS. WILL USE A BLEND TOWARDS AVN MODEL FOR FORECAST. VERY
STRONG DYNAMICS WITH SYSTEM WILL HELP PRODUCE HEAVY PRECIPITATION
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. A JET CURRENTLY IN IOWA AND ONE
IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AHEAD OF THE MAIN LOW...WILL COUPLE ACROSS
THE AREA LATER TONIGHT. STRONG DIVERGENCE SEEN IN THE UPPER LEVELS
AFTER 09/06Z INTO 09/18Z. PRECIPITABLE WATERS RUNNING WELL ABOVE
NORMAL...WITH VALUES OF .70 TO 1.20 INCHES TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY
MORNING. MODEL SOUNDINGS FOR PRECIPITATION VARY FROM ALL SNOW IN
THE NORTHWESTERN ZONES TO STARTING AS RAIN IN THE SOUTHEASTERN ZONES.
SOUNDINGS IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN
INDICATE MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS FREEZING RAIN
DURING THE NIGHT BEFORE THE CHANGE OVER. STRONG LOW LEVEL COLD
ADVECTION ON FRIDAY AS SYSTEM MOVES TO THE EAST. SURFACE PRESSURE
GRADIENT BECOMES STRONG BY 09/12Z IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHEAST IOWA...AND SHIFTS INTO WESTERN WISCONSIN DURING THE DAY.

EXPECT PRECIPITATION IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHERN WISCONSIN
ZONES...AND EXTREME WESTERN NORTHEAST IOWA...TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW
QUICKLY DURING THE EVENING. WILL ISSUE FLOOD WATCH FOR GRANT COUNTY
AS HEAVY RAIN MAY FALL DURING THE EVENING OVER FROZEN GROUND...
BEFORE CHANGING TO FREEZING RAIN. JUST TO THE NORTH...SIGNIFICANT
FREEZING RAIN WILL FALL OVERNIGHT. IN BETWEEN...MIX PRECIPITATION
THIS EVENING WILL CHANGE TO SNOW BEFORE MIDNIGHT.  IT WILL BE WINDY
ON FRIDAY WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS DEVELOPING

THANKS FOR COORDINATION WITH DMX...DVN...GRB...MKX...AND MPX.

.LSE...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND FRIDAY ENTIRE AREA.
       ...MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-053>
       055-061-IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030.
       FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT...WIZ061.

NELSON


The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Mower

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Mower forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.672, -92.752 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Fillmore

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.674, -92.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Houston

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Houston forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.671, -91.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Olmsted

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Olmsted forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.004, -92.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wabasha

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Wabasha forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.284, -92.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Winona

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Winona forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.987, -91.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dodge

When
February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.023, -92.862 (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: 5229653, 5229654, 5229655, 5229656, 5229657, 5229735, 5229736.