Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 11 to 12, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 11 to 12, 2001
Start: 2001-03-11T22:00
End: 2001-03-12T20:00
Location: Minnesota

March 11 to 12, 2001 · NWS DLH · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A late winter storm produced a fairly uniform snowfall of 6 to 7 inches from Pine County through Duluth and up the North Shore.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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 late winter storm produced a fairly uniform snowfall of 6 to 7 inches from Pine County through Duluth and up the North Shore.

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 Mar 11, 3:10 PM CST, 6 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 11, 3:10 PM CST, 6 hours 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
310 PM CST SUN MAR 11 2001

PRIMARY FOCUS FOR THIS FORECAST IS INCOMING SNOWFALL EVENT.

MODELS STARTING TO CONVERGE ON A SOLUTION...THAT IS REMARKABLY CLOSE
TO WHAT THE AVN HAS BEEN ADVERTISING. THINK ETA/MESOETA NOW HAVE
LATCHED ON FAIRLY WELL TO THIS SCENARIO. WILL TRANSITION OVER THE
THE ETA/MESO THINKING...ALTHOUGH AVN NOT ALL THAT DIFFERENT ANYWAY.

SFC LOW PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO IOWA BY MORNING...AND THEN
INTO EASTERN WI BY MONDAY EVENING. THIS SYSTEM SURPRISINGLY HAS
QUITE A BIT OF MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS TO WORK WITH. THE GARCIA METHOD
WOULD INDICATE FROM 4 TO 6 INCHES IN MUCH OF NW WI. FOR NOW WILL GO
WITH 3-5 FOR MONDAY...AND A GRAND TOTAL OF 5 TO 7 THROUGH MONDAY
NIGHT. THIS PUTS THE AREA INTO A MARGINAL ADVISORY/WARNING SCENARIO.
GIVEN THE TENDENCY OF THE MODELS TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THE PCPN
FARTHER WEST WITH EACH RUN...WILL HOLD OFF ON THE WARNING FOR NOW.
THE OTHER PROBLEM AREAS COULD BE ANYWHERE AROUND THE NORTH SHORE AND
SOUTH SHORE...SO WILL HIGHLIGHT LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS THERE.

A COUPLE THINGS MAKE ME NERVOUS THAT THIS MAY TURN INTO A HEAVY SNOW
EVENT FOR THE EASTERN 1/2 TO 2/3 OF THE CWA. THE FIRST IS THE DECENT
RRQ DYNAMICS...AND THE OTHER IS THE S-SHAPED THICKNESS PATTERN WITH
A SURFACE TROUGH HANGING BACK ACROSS LAKE SUPERIOR. WILL PASS THE
POTENTIAL FOR A HEAVIER SNOWFALL THAN FORECAST TO THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT.

THE ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL SHOULD DWINDLE MON NIGHT/TUE...BUT
SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AND CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE INTO AT LEAST TUE.

NGM GUIDANCE APPEARS TOO COOL FOR DAYTIME HIGHS...AND WILL FOLLOW
THE AVN FOR THE MOST PART.

THANKS TO MPX...GRB...MQT FOR COORDINATION.

.DLH...SNOW ADVISORY WIZ002>004 AND WIZ006>009 MONDAY.

DAP

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Lake / North Shore

When: March 11, 10:00 PM CST to March 12, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Southern Lake / North Shore forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.557, -91.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cook / North Shore

When: March 11, 10:00 PM CST to March 12, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Southern Cook / North Shore forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.817, -90.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When: March 11, 10:00 PM CST to March 12, 8:00 PM 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: March 11, 10:00 PM CST to March 12, 8:00 PM 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

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, March 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: 5236691, 5236692, 5236693, 5236694.