Wisconsin, 2001

Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 12, 2001

March 12, 2001 · NWS MPX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

, just after midnight on the 12th, tracked northeast across far southern Minnesota during the morning hours, and then marched into West Central Wisconsin by the afternoon. A large area of generally 6 to 7 inches of snow accumulated across West Central Wisconsin by the early afternoon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
9

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 surface low pressure system located near Kansas City, MO., just after midnight on the 12th, tracked northeast across far southern Minnesota during the morning hours, and then marched into West Central Wisconsin by the afternoon. A large area of generally 6 to 7 inches of snow accumulated across West Central Wisconsin by the early afternoon. Some snowfall reports of note include: Fairchild 11 inches, three miles southwest of Eau Claire 10 inches, 3 miles north of Chippewa Falls - 9 inches, New Richmond - 6.5 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 Mar 11, 8:46 PM CST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 11, 8:46 PM CST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
846 PM CST SUN MAR 11 2001

DP/DT ON THE 00Z ETA FOR 12Z MONDAY INDICATES A CONTINUED TREND OF
MOVING THE SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM CURRENTLY OFF TO OUR SOUTHWEST
FURTHER NORTH. THREE RUNS AGO THE H5 LOW WAS PROGGED OVER CENTRAL KS
FOR MONDAY MORNING AND NOW THE LOW IS SHOWN WEST OF KFSD. THIS
FURTHER NORTHWARD TREND ALLOWS MORE MOISTURE TO MAKE ITS WAY INTO
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MN OVERNIGHT AND MONDAY. PLUS THE MID/UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH IS TAKING ON MORE OF A NEGATIVE TILT WITH TIME.
HENCE...WILL EXPAND THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FURTHER WEST AND
INCLUDE SHERBURNE...WRIGHT...MEEKER...RENVILLE...REDWOOD AND YELLOW
MEDICINE COUNTIES. QPF VALUES BECOMING MORE IMPRESSIVE FOR THE TWIN
CITIES WITH VALUES NOW AROUND .50. WILL DIVIDE THE METRO AREA FOR A
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN GROUP AND GIVE A RANGE OF 4 TO 6 INCHES BY
MONDAY EVENING FOR THE SOUTHERN METRO. SNOW AMOUNTS FROM 6 TO 9
INCHES OVER THE FAR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AREAS OF THE CWA STILL LOOK
OKAY.

.MSP...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND MONDAY FOR THE AREA
       SOUTH OF A LINE FROM KULM-KFBL-KRGK-TO CORNELL WI.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TONIGHT AND MONDAY FOR AREA EAST OF A
       LINE FROM YELLOW MEDICINE TO KCBG.

HILTBRAND

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Barron

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Barron forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.424, -91.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chippewa

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.069, -91.280 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Dunn

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Dunn forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eau Claire

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Eau Claire forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.727, -91.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pepin

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Pepin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.483, -92.150 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pierce

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Pierce forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Polk

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rusk

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Rusk forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.475, -91.133 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, St. Croix

When
March 12, 12:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
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, March 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: 5237335, 5237336, 5237337, 5237338, 5237339, 5237340, 5237341, 5237342, 5237343.