Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 8 to 10, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 8 to 10, 2001
Start: 2001-02-08T21:00
End: 2001-02-10T03:00
Location: Wisconsin

February 8 to 10, 2001 · NWS DLH · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Up to a foot of lake effect snow fell along the south shore of Lake Superior, with 12 inches at Hurley, 13 inches in Mellen, and 8 inches at Washburn and the mouth of the Brule River.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Up to a foot of lake effect snow fell along the south shore of Lake Superior, with 12 inches at Hurley, 13 inches in Mellen, and 8 inches at Washburn and the mouth of the Brule River.

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 8, 2:42 PM CST, 6 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 2:42 PM CST, 6 hours 18 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED WWA CODES
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
200 PM CST THU FEB 8 2001

FORECAST CONCERNS ARE ON SNOW TONIGHT AND LES TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. ETA HAS
AN OUTSTANDING HANDLE ON THE CURRENT TRENDS AND WILL FOLLOW.

POWERFUL SFC SYSTEM MOVES ITS CENTER TO NEAR MKE BY 12Z FRIDAY.
BAROCLINIC ZONE MOVES ACROSS WI CWFA TONIGHT. UPPER LEVEL
DIVERGENCE REMAINS OVER THE AREA WITH COUPLED JET. ALREADY HAVE
WINTER STORM WARNING IN PLACE FOR THIS AREA AND STILL LOOKS GOOD.
ETA PCPN FIELDS PLACE .30 INCHES OVER THIS AREA AS WELL. THICKNESSES
SUPPORT SNOW AND GARCIA METHOD GIVES 4 TO 6 INCHES OVER THE WARNED
AREA. ELSEWHERE...ISENTROPIC DOWNGLIDE OCCURRING AS COLD...DRY AIR
ARRIVES WITH 1040MB HIGH BUILDING IN.

UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE CWFA ON FRIDAY. SFC RIDGING
ALONG THE RED RIVER VALLEY BY 00Z SATURDAY. WRAP AROUND PCPN LINGERS
OVER THE MN ARROWHEAD AND WI AS CAA INCREASES. LES MACHINE CRANKS UP
ON SATURDAY AS FAVORABLE WINDS AND FETCH BECOME ESTABLISHED. DELTA
T'S ARE NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE INITIALLY...BUT THE CAA IMPROVES THAT
THROUGH THE DAY. INVERSION DROPS FROM AROUND 12K FT TO 5K FT THROUGH
THE DAY...BUT DRY AIR ARRIVES DURING THE AFTERNOON AND WINDS BECOME
LESS FAVORABLE.

SFC HIGH MOVES OVER THE CWFA FRIDAY NIGHT. COLD...DRY AIR WILL HAVE
NO PROBLEM SCOURING OUT THE CLOUDS AND ALLOW FOR GOOD RADIATIONAL
COOLING. MOS TEMPS APPEAR REASONABLE HERE. RIDGING CONTINUES ON
SATURDAY WITH WAA BEGINNING IN THE AFTERNOON. AMPLE SUNSHINE SHOULD
ALLOW TEMPS TO RECOVER TO NEAR MOS VALUES.

CCORD WITH MPX AND FGF.

.DLH...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT FOR MNZ037-038-WIZ001-006>009.
       WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND FRIDAY FOR WIZ002>004.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR MNZ025-033>036.

GSF

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, Bayfield

When: February 8, 9:00 PM CST to February 10, 3:00 AM 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, Douglas

When: February 8, 9:00 PM CST to February 10, 3:00 AM 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, Ashland

When: February 8, 9:00 PM CST to February 10, 3:00 AM 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 8, 9:00 PM CST to February 10, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.317, -90.264 (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 Wisconsin in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5234677, 5234678, 5234679, 5234680.