Winter Storm in Minnesota, November 26 to 28, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, November 26 to 28, 2001
Start: 2001-11-26T15:35
End: 2001-11-28T04:00
Location: Minnesota

November 26 to 28, 2001 · NWS FGF · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

6 to 15 inches of snow fell across the area, with Breckenridge reporting the 15 inches. Several area schools were closed.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 9

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 FGF wrote it up.

6 to 15 inches of snow fell across the area, with Breckenridge reporting the 15 inches. Several area schools were closed. In Otter Tail county, a 19 year-old Underwood man died in a car crash at an icy intersection.

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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 26, 2:55 PM CST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 26, 2:55 PM CST, 40 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
255 PM CST MON NOV 26 2001

FORECAST CHALLENGE MAINLY CONCERNS LAYOUT OF CURRENT HEADLINES.

MODELS OVERALL IN CLOSE AGREEMENT WITH MAIN FEATURES HOWEVER SHOWING
SOME KEY DIFFERENCES. MODELS INITIALIZED WELL WITH SFC LOW POSIT AND
CLOSE ON TRACK. FEEL CURRENT FCST TRACK LOOKS GOOD BASED ON MSAS
PRESSURE FALL MAX AND LOCATION OF TIGHT BAROCLINIC ZONE AT 850 MB.
MODELS SHOWING DIFFERENCES ON NORTHWARD EXPANSE OF STRONG 850MB WARM
ADVECTION WITH ETA FARTHEST NORTH. AS A RESULT ETA MORE BULLISH ON
STRENGTH OF ISENTROPIC LIFT AND QPF OVER LOCATIONS IMMEDIATELY NORTH
OF CURRENT WARNING AREA. WITH BOTH MODELS INDICATING PRETTY MUCH A
DUE EASTERLY FLOW FEEL THE NORTHWARD PUSH OF WAA MAY BE OVERDONE AND
FEEL AVN HAS A LITTLE BETTER HANDLE ON QPF. AT ANY RATE SNOW TO
EXPAND NORTHWARD AS ISENTROPIC LIFT INCREASES. CURRENT WARNING
AREA LOOKS GOOD. CONCERN LIES WITH COUNTIES IMMEDIATELY TO THE
NORTH. BASE ON LOCAL WARNING CRITERIA IF SNOW PANS OUT THESE AREAS
COULD APPROACH WARNING CRITERIA. N-NE WINDS TO CONTINUE IN THE 20-30
MPH RANGE. ATTM FEEL WINDS WILL REMAIN BLO BLIZZARD PRODUCING
STRENGTH OVER PLAINS HOWEVER WITH SNOW TRAVEL WILL BE TOUGH. CURRENT
FEELING IS TO LEAVE CURRENT HEADLINES AS IS HOWEVER IF CONDITIONS
WORSEN SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE NEAR TERM MAY UPGRADE ABOVE MENTIONED
COUNTIES INTO WARNING STATUS. WITH CLOUDS AND LACK OF LOW LEVEL COLD
ADVECTION TEMPS NOT LIKELY TO FALL MUCH OVERNIGHT. FAVOR WARMER MAV
TEMPS.

UPPER AND SFC LOW ONLY TO MOVE SLOWLY TO SE CORNER OF MN AT 18Z
TMRW. WITH SLOW TRACK LOOKS TO BE PROLONGED AREA OF SNOWFALL
OVERNIGHT IN ATLEAST INTO TUESDAY AS ISENTROPIC LIFT CONTINUES. ETA
AGAIN SEEMS OVERDONE ON QPF HOWEVER WITH ANY ADDNL SNOW...SNOW ON
GROUND AND WIND CONTINUING WILL MAINTAIN WARNING INTO TUESDAY VS
TUESDAY AM AND LET LATER SHIFTS END WARNING WHEN APPROPRIATE. LATER
ON TUESDAY AS LOW SHEARS EAST CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE WITH
ISENTROPIC LIFT DIMINISHES.

SFC HIGH BEGINS PUSHES INTO FORECAST AREA DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY.
WITH LOW LEVEL COLD POOL IN PLACE AND CLOUDS TEMPS NOT LIKELY TO
RESPOND.

EXTENDED...MRF AND UKMET MORE SIMILAR...WITH ECMWF SLOWER ON TIMING.
UPPER LEVEL TROF AND SFC LOW MOVE THROUGH CWFA ON FRI AND SAT. THEN
UPPER LEVEL NW FLOW SETS UP WITH QUICK MOVING SFC LOWS GOING THROUGH
CWFA ABOUT EVERY DAY...SO KEPT CHC SN IN FORECAST. WITH TIMING
ALWAYS DIFFICULT IN NW FLOW...WILL SIMPLIFY EXTENDED WITH CHC SN
EACH DAY. AS FAR AS TEMPS...LEANED TOWARDS COOLER MEX GUIDANCE...
HOLDING TEMPS BELOW TO NEAR NORMAL.

.FGF...WINTER STORM WARNING EXTREME SE ND AND PARTS OF WC AND NW MN.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINDER E ND AND MUCH OF NW MN.

NG/VOELKER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Clay

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.892, -96.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, West Becker

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: West Becker forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.935, -95.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, East Becker

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: East Becker forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.935, -95.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hubbard

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Hubbard forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.109, -94.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wadena

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Wadena forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.586, -94.969 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, East Otter Tail

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: East Otter Tail forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.409, -95.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, West Otter Tail

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: West Otter Tail forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.409, -95.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wilkin

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Wilkin forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 46.357, -96.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grant

When: November 26, 3:35 PM CST to November 28, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 45.934, -96.012 (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, November 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: 5272798, 5272799, 5272800, 5272801, 5272802, 5272803, 5272804, 5272805, 5272806.