Wisconsin, 2001

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 24 to 25, 2001

February 24 to 25, 2001 · NWS DLH · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

A large winter storm moved through the western Great Lakes region, bringing heavy snow and freezing rain to northwestern Wisconsin in two waves over a period of a day and a half. Snowfall totals generally ranged from a half a foot to a foot and a half, with a maximum of 20 inches in northeastern Douglas County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
8

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 large winter storm moved through the western Great Lakes region, bringing heavy snow and freezing rain to northwestern Wisconsin in two waves over a period of a day and a half. Snowfall totals generally ranged from a half a foot to a foot and a half, with a maximum of 20 inches in northeastern Douglas County. The freezing rain resulted in over 1/4 inch of inch accumulation on roads, trees, and power lines in Ashland, Iron, and Price Counties from the evening of the 24th through the early morning of the 25th.

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 Feb 23, 9:00 PM CST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 23, 9:00 PM CST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
900 PM CST FRI FEB 23 2001

MAJOR WINTER STORM THE FOCUS TONIGHT.

STRONG ISENTROPIC LIFT/WAA SNOWS ALREADY LIFTING INTO OUR SOUTHWEST
CWA. DRY LOW LEVELS ARE HOLDING OFF THE ONSET OF SNOW SOMEWHAT...
BUT THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITABLE WATER ADVECTING IN IS SIGNIFICANT
ENOUGH TO START SNOW AS FORECAST OVERNIGHT. SOME CONVECTIVE
ELEMENTS WERE DEPICTED ON THE LATE AFTERNOON VISIBLE SATELLITE...AND
THE TSSN IN SOUIX FALLS SD CONFIRMED THAT SCENARIO. THE NEW ETA/NGM
ARE STILL SUGGESTING 2-4 INCH SNOWFALL BY MORNING IN MUCH OF THE CWA
AND THE DYNAMICS OF THE SYSTEM SEEM TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT
THIS. A BREAK IN THE ACTION STILL ON TRACK FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON
AS THE LOW LIFTS NORTHEAST INTO IOWA. FREEZING PRECIP STILL ON TAP
FOR MUCH OF OUR WISCONSIN CWA AS THE WARM SURGE PUSHES NORTH. THIS
MAY HOLD THE SNOW TOTALS DOWN THERE A BIT...BUT THE WINTRY MESS
THAT WILL RESULT STILL WARRENTS STRONG HEADLINE WORDING. THE BIG
SNOW TOTALS WILL COME ON SATURDAY NIGHT AS THE LOW PULLS INTO
WISCONSIN. THE HEAVY SNOW BAND IN THE COMMA HEAD LOOKS TO MAINTAIN
ACROSS OUR MN CWA AND WESTERN WI CWA. SNOW TOTALS STILL HON TRACK
AND I WILL LEAVE THE CURRENT HEADLINES ALONE. ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS
NEEDED TO CURRENT ZONES.

.DLH...WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TNGT THROUGH SAT NIGHT ENTIRE CWA.

SHIMON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Douglas

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Douglas forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.464, -91.899 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bayfield

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Bayfield forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.635, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ashland

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Ashland forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.510, -90.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Iron

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Iron forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.317, -90.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Burnett

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Burnett forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.863, -92.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Washburn

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Washburn forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.899, -91.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sawyer

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Sawyer forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.880, -91.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Price

When
February 24, 12:00 AM CST to February 25, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Price forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.680, -90.361 (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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, 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: 5234681, 5234682, 5234683, 5234775, 5234776, 5234777, 5234778, 5234779.