Wisconsin, 2001

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 7, 2001

February 7, 2001 · NWS MPX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A warm frontal zone protruding east from a surface low pressure system situated over eastern Colorado, produced snow totals whichwere mainly in the 6 to 7 inch range across a large swath of West central Wisconsin. 0 inches).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
5

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 MPX wrote it up.

A warm frontal zone protruding east from a surface low pressure system situated over eastern Colorado, produced snow totals whichwere mainly in the 6 to 7 inch range across a large swath of West central Wisconsin. Some snow totals of note include Spring Valley (7.0 inches), Baldwin (7.0 inches), and Cedar Falls (6.0 inches).

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 7, 3:30 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 3:30 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
330 AM CST WED FEB 7 2001

LIGHT SNOW HAS TAPERED OFF WITH WEAKENING ISENTROPIC LIFT.  SOME
FREEZING DRIZZLE HAS DEVELOPED WITH WEAKENED DYNAMIC LIFT.  THE
MAIN PROBLEM TODAY IS THE RISK OF FREEZING PRECIPITATION IN SRN MN
AND W CENTRAL WI. BASED ON THICKNESS FORECAST FOR AVN AND ETA AND
COORDINATION...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUE FOR A SERN
PORTION OF FORECAST AREA.

MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING STRONG MOIST SRLY FLOW TO THE FORECAST AREA
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO FRIDAY.  IT APPEARS THE LOW/TROUGH OVER
SRN CA HAS A STRONGER UPSTREAM JET AND IS BEGINNING TO EJECT NEWRD.
MODELS DIFFER ON TIMING...ESPECIALLY IN 24 TO 30 HOUR PERIOD.  THE
TREND SEEMS TO BE SLOWER WITH EACH RUN...SO SLOWER AVN SOLUTION IS
PREFERRED.  THIS MEANS A POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN ERN MN
AND WRN WI.  THE WINTER STORM WATCH WILL REMAIN FOR TONIGHT DUE TO
SLOWER TIMING...WITH NO HEADLINES DURING THE DAY...EXCEPT THE
PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED ADVISORY.  WITH THE NRN STREAM TROUGH MORE SNOW
IS LIKELY IN CENTRAL AND WRN MN...AN ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT
FOR BLOWING SNOW AS WIND INCREASES WITH TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT.

THE REST OF THE FORECAST REMAINS THE SAME WITH THE TIMING OF THE
EJECTING TROUGHS.  TEMPERATURES SHOULD PLUNGE AS THE LOW MOVES
EAST...BUT CONSIDERABLE WRAP-AROUND...ESPECIALLY IN WRN WI.

.MSP...WINTER WEATHER PART OF S CENTRAL MN AND EAU CLAIRE AND PEPIN
       COUNTIES IN WI
       WINTER STORM WATCH FOR S AND E CENTRAL MN AND W CENTRAL WI
       TONIGHT...
 SCOTT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Dunn

When
February 7, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Dunn forecast zone
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eau Claire

When
February 7, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Eau Claire forecast zone
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
44.727, -91.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pepin

When
February 7, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Pepin forecast zone
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
44.483, -92.150 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pierce

When
February 7, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Pierce forecast zone
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, St. Croix

When
February 7, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
45.034, -92.453 (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: 5232203, 5232204, 5232205, 5232206, 5232207.