Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 8 to 9, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 8 to 9, 2001
Start: 2001-02-08T17:00
End: 2001-02-09T11:00
Location: Wisconsin

February 8 to 9, 2001 · NWS ARX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Freezing rain produced a widespread coating of 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice, which was followed by 1 to 3 inches of snow accumulation. This caused hazardous traveling conditions, but law enforcement officials reported only minor accidents.

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: None recorded
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 ARX wrote it up.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 8, 3:40 PM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 3:40 PM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
340 PM CST THU FEB 8 2001

MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE PRECIPITATION TYPES AND AMOUNTS...AND WINDS.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS HAD A WARM FRONT TO NEAR THE
WISCONSIN/ILLINOIS BORDER BY 3 PM. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE FORECAST
AREA RANGED FROM THE UPPER 20S NORTH TO 34 IN THE FAR SOUTH. KARX
RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING ACROSS THE AREA. KDMX RADAR
HAD A BROAD AREA OF PRECIPITATION ALREADY INTO CENTRAL IOWA...
SPREADING TO THE NORTHEAST. LIGHTNING DATA SHOWED A COUPLE OF
STRIKES IN THE FAR SOUTHERN COUNTIES. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWED
STRONG UPPER LEVEL CIRCULATION IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA...STARTING TO
TURN TO THE NORTHEAST. STRONG MOISTURE PLUME COMING OFF THE EASTERN
PACIFIC STRAIGHT NORTH INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST.

ETA MODEL SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN SLOWING TO AVN SOLUTION OVER THE PAST
FEW RUNS. WILL USE A BLEND TOWARDS AVN MODEL FOR FORECAST. VERY
STRONG DYNAMICS WITH SYSTEM WILL HELP PRODUCE HEAVY PRECIPITATION
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. A JET CURRENTLY IN IOWA AND ONE
IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AHEAD OF THE MAIN LOW...WILL COUPLE ACROSS
THE AREA LATER TONIGHT. STRONG DIVERGENCE SEEN IN THE UPPER LEVELS
AFTER 09/06Z INTO 09/18Z. PRECIPITABLE WATERS RUNNING WELL ABOVE
NORMAL...WITH VALUES OF .70 TO 1.20 INCHES TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY
MORNING. MODEL SOUNDINGS FOR PRECIPITATION VARY FROM ALL SNOW IN
THE NORTHWESTERN ZONES TO STARTING AS RAIN IN THE SOUTHEASTERN ZONES.
SOUNDINGS IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN
INDICATE MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS FREEZING RAIN
DURING THE NIGHT BEFORE THE CHANGE OVER. STRONG LOW LEVEL COLD
ADVECTION ON FRIDAY AS SYSTEM MOVES TO THE EAST. SURFACE PRESSURE
GRADIENT BECOMES STRONG BY 09/12Z IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHEAST IOWA...AND SHIFTS INTO WESTERN WISCONSIN DURING THE DAY.

EXPECT PRECIPITATION IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHERN WISCONSIN
ZONES...AND EXTREME WESTERN NORTHEAST IOWA...TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW
QUICKLY DURING THE EVENING. WILL ISSUE FLOOD WATCH FOR GRANT COUNTY
AS HEAVY RAIN MAY FALL DURING THE EVENING OVER FROZEN GROUND...
BEFORE CHANGING TO FREEZING RAIN. JUST TO THE NORTH...SIGNIFICANT
FREEZING RAIN WILL FALL OVERNIGHT. IN BETWEEN...MIX PRECIPITATION
THIS EVENING WILL CHANGE TO SNOW BEFORE MIDNIGHT.  IT WILL BE WINDY
ON FRIDAY WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS DEVELOPING

THANKS FOR COORDINATION WITH DMX...DVN...GRB...MKX...AND MPX.

.LSE...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND FRIDAY ENTIRE AREA.
       ...MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044-053>
       055-061-IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030.
       FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT...WIZ061.

NELSON

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, Crawford

When: February 8, 5:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.240, -90.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grant

When: February 8, 5:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.868, -90.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Richland

When: February 8, 5:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.376, -90.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Trempealeau

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Trempealeau forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.304, -91.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Buffalo

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.380, -91.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Monroe

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.946, -90.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Adams

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.970, -89.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.319, -90.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, La Crosse

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: La Crosse forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.907, -91.115 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Vernon

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Vernon forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.594, -90.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Juneau

When: February 8, 6:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Juneau forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.924, -90.114 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Taylor

When: February 8, 7:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Taylor forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.212, -90.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clark

When: February 8, 7:00 PM CST to February 9, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.735, -90.612 (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 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: 5229739, 5229746, 5229749, 5229737, 5229738, 5229740, 5229741, 5229743, 5229744, 5229747, 5229748, 5229742, 5229745.