Winter Storm in Minnesota, November 26 to 27, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, November 26 to 27, 2001
Start: 2001-11-26T13:00
End: 2001-11-27T19:00
Location: Minnesota

November 26 to 27, 2001 · NWS DLH · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: $500,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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.

Heavy snow fell overnight with snow accumulations ranging from 6 to 17 inches. The highest amounts occurred from southern Cass County, through southern Crow Wing County and Aitkin County to Pine County. Snowfall in these areas ranged from 8 to 17 inches. The 17 inches of snow fell in southern Pine County. Very strong winds created near-blizzard conditions. Winds gusted over 50 mph at the Duluth Harbor, creating 16 foot waves that wiped away parts of the shoreline of Duluth and tore apart 5% of the Duluth Lakewalk, causing about $500,000 in damage.

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 Nov 26, 3:30 AM CST, 9 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 26, 3:30 AM CST, 9 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
330 AM CST MON NOV 26 2001

FORECAST CONCERNS ARE ON APPROACHING WINTER STORM. MODELS ARE IN
GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH SOME MINOR DIFFERENCES. WILL USE A BLEND OF
ETA AND AVN.

STORM IS MOVING INTO THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE WITH -SN SPREADING INTO
SW MN PER 88D RADAR MOSAIC. OVER THE CWFA...SOME PATCHY --SN AND
FOG PER SFC OBS. SOME LAKE ENHANCED BANDS OF -SN FALLING ALONG THE
SOUTH SHORE OF LS WITH ASX REPORTING 1SM -SN AND NE WIND FOR A
PERIOD OF TIME.

STORM SYSTEM MOVES INTO SW IA WITH UPPER LEVEL LOW LAGGING BEHIND IN
NE NEBRASKA TODAY. MOISTURE AND LIFT SURGING N OF THIS SYSTEM ON
STRONG JET. EXPECT -SN TO OVERSPREAD THE CWFA BY AFTERNOON WITH
INCREASING NE SFC WINDS. WILL UPGRADE THE WATCH TO A WARNING. SFC LOW
MOVES INTO NE IA TONIGHT AND INTO SOUTHERN WI ON TUESDAY WHERE IT
BEGINS TO WEAKEN. ENOUGH FORCING/LIFT TO KEEP THE SNOW GOING TONIGHT
THROUGH TUESDAY OVER CWFA. TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL ALSO KEEP
THE WIND SPEEDS UP. WILL ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NW
PORTION FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY.

NE WINDS AND FAVORABLE FETCH WILL PRODUCE SOME LAKE ENHANCED SNOW
ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE OF LS. WILL ADD LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS TO
THIS AREA. MOS TEMPS GENERALLY FOLLOWED.

COORD WITH FGF...ARX...MPX AND GRB.

.DLH...WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY
       MN ZONES 12-19>21-25-26-33>38 AND WI ZONES 1>4-6>9.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MN ZONES
       10-11-18.

GSF

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Central St. Louis

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Central St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Crow Wing

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Crow Wing forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 46.482, -94.071 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Koochiching

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Koochiching forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 48.245, -93.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Aitkin

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Northern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Cass

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Northern Cass forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Itasca

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Northern Itasca forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pine

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Pine forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 46.121, -92.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Aitkin

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Southern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Cass

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Southern Cass forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Itasca

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Southern Itasca forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern Lake

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Southern Lake forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.557, -91.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Southern St. Louis / Carlton forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.091, -92.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Cook / Northern Lake

When: November 26, 1:00 PM CST to November 27, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Northern Cook / Northern Lake forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 47.670, -90.975 (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: 5272492, 5272493, 5272494, 5272495, 5272496, 5272497, 5272498, 5272499, 5272500, 5272501, 5272502, 5272503, 5272504.