Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 29 to 30, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 29 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-01-29T17:00
End: 2001-01-30T14:00
Location: Minnesota

January 29 to 30, 2001 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

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 ABR wrote it up.

Freezing rain, accumulating from 1/4 to 1/2 inch, changed over to snow late in the evening of the 29th. The snow became heavy and accumulated from 8 to 12 inches across Big Stone and Traverse counties. As a result of the ice and snow, travel was significantly disrupted, schools were canceled or delayed, and some vehicle accidents occurred. Some snowfall amounts included, 8 inches at Ortonville and Artichoke Lake, 11 inches at Wheaton, and 12 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 Jan 29, 3:20 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 3:20 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
320 PM CST MON JAN 29 2001

MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE IS SNOW AMOUNTS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. 20Z
SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED STRONG LOW PRESSURE CENTERED OVER SOUTHERN
IOWA WITH HIGH PRESSURE WEST OF THE ROCKIES. ALL THE MODELS ARE IN
REAL GOOD AGREEMENT TODAY WITH THIS SYSTEM...AND THIS HAS RESULTED
IN SOME BIG CHANGES BEING MADE FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST.

THE SURFACE LOW WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE NORTHWARD TONIGHT AS
INDICATED BY THE BEST PRESSURE FALLS BEING LOCATED ALMOST STRAIGHT
NORTH OF THE CURRENT LOW POSITION. THE LOW LOOKS TO BE CENTERED OVER
FAR NORTHERN IOWA/SOUTHERN MINNESOTA BY MORNING. SOME LIGHT SNOW AND
FREEZING DRIZZLE WAS FALLING OVER THE FAR SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE
CWA AT 21Z. AS THE LOW MOVES NORTH TONIGHT...ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL
WRAP AROUND IT INTO THE CWA...AND THIS LOOKS TO CONTINUE INTO
TUESDAY FOR MUCH OF THE AREA AS THE LOW SLOWLY BEGINS TO PUSH
EASTWARD. CURRENTLY HAVE A WINTER STORM WARNING OUT FOR ALL BUT THE
FAR WESTERN ZONES...AND WILL KEEP THIS GOING. EXPECT THE MOST
ACCUMULATIONS TO BE FROM ABOUT THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY EAST. WILL
CARRY ANYWHERE FROM 6 TO 12 INCHES THERE...TO 5 TO 7 IN THE SOUTH
CENTRAL CWA.

THE LOW WILL BE SLOW TO MOVE MUCH FARTHER THAN THE WESTERN GREAT
LAKES TUESDAY NIGHT...SO WILL LEAVE A CHANCE POP FOR SOME LINGERING
LIGHT SNOW...WHICH IS ALSO INDICATED BY THE MODEL SNOW FORECASTS.

THE REGION WILL REMAIN BETWEEN HIGH PRESSURE WEST OF THE ROCKIES AND
THE EASTWARD MOVING LOW ON WEDNESDAY. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL
TRACK ACROSS THE DAKOTAS. SOME LOW TO MID LEVEL MOISTURE STILL
EVIDENT...SO WILL KEEP A FEW CLOUDS IN THE WEST AND MORE IN THE
EAST. A NOSE OF THE HIGH TO THE WEST WILL PUSH INTO THE NORTHERN
PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH UPPER LEVEL RIDGING ALSO BEGINNING TO
PUSH IN. THIS WILL ALLOW THE CLOUD COVER TO DECREASE MORE...SO
PARTLY CLOUDY SHOULD COVER.

WENT WITH SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPS TONIGHT AND SLIGHTLY COOLER ON
TUESDAY AS THE CLOUD AND SNOW SHOULD NOT ALLOW MUCH FLUCTUATION. FWC
AND MAV WERE NOT THAT DIFFERENT FOR THE LATER PERIODS...SO GENERALLY
FOLLOWED THEM.

...EXTENDED FORECAST...
NOT MUCH AGREEMENT IN EXTENDED MODELS FOR THURSDAY-MONDAY PERIOD.
WILL FOLLOW AVN FOR EARLY PORTION...THEN A BLEND OF MRF AND
ECMWF...LEANING ON MRF ENSEMBLES FOR PRECIP FCSTS. DOES NOT SEEM ANY
SINGLE EVENT HAS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS...SO WILL MENTION ONLY LIGHT WHEN/WHERE INCLUDED. AVN
SHOWING WM FNT MOVING W TO E ACROSS AREA WITH LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS
POSSIBLE AND GOOD 1000-850 FRONTOGENESIS. THEREAFTER...MRF ENSEMBLES
SHOW GOOD PROBABLITY OF LIGHT SNOW FOR MOST/ALL OF AREA THIS WEEKEND
WITH A CLIPPER DROPPING SOUTH. THIS FEATURE WILL MOVE VERY
QUICKLY...SO LIGHT SEEMS APPROPRIATE HERE ALSO. MODELS AGAIN AT ODDS
FOR THIS TIME FRAME...WITH ECMWF AND AVN SEEMING TO HAVE BEST
OVERALL AGREEMENT...BOTH SHOWING 5H TROF DROPPING SOUTH THROUGH
UPPER MIDWEST...AND MRF AND UKMET LAGGING BEHIND WITH SHALLOW 5H
TROF JUST UPSTREAM. EITHER WAY...LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PROBABILITY FOR A
SERIES OF FAST MOVING...RELATIVELY WEAK SYSTEMS. ALL IN
ALL...CONFIDENCE SOMEWHAT LOW. FOR TEMPS...SAW NO GOOD REASON TO
DIVERGE TOO MUCH FROM MEX TEMPS.

.ABR...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND TUESDAY EAST OF A LINE AND
       INCLUDING MCPHERSON...EDMUNDS...FAULK...HYDE...HUGHES AND
       LYMAN COUNTIES.

PARKIN/LORENS

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, Big Stone

When: January 29, 5:00 PM CST to January 30, 2:00 PM 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, Traverse

When: January 29, 5:00 PM CST to January 30, 2:00 PM 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

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, January 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: 5231218, 5231219.