Winter Storm, Pope
- When
- February 8, 10:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Pope forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.586, -95.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Minnesota, February 8, 2004
Low pressure tracked over western Minnesota during the evening of the 8th. This storm dropped a narrow band of 6 to 10 inches of snow across Swift and Pope counties.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Low pressure tracked over western Minnesota during the evening of the 8th. This storm dropped a narrow band of 6 to 10 inches of snow across Swift and Pope counties. Snowfall totals included 10 inches north of Appleton and 9 inches in Glenwood. In addition, northwest winds gusted up to 20 mph after the snowfall ended on the evening of the 8th causing blowing and drifting on roads and in open areas.
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 8, 2:22 AM CST, 7 hours 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 8, 2:22 AM CST, 7 hours 38 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 221 AM CST SUN FEB 8 2004 .DISCUSSION... THE FORECAST CHALLENGE IN THE SHORT TERM ARE SNOW CHANCES LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. MODELS STILL INDICATE A VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING OUT THE CENTRAL ROCKIES AND A SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. BOTH THE ETA/GFS HAS THE SOUTHERN SYSTEM BECOMES ABSORBED BY THE NORTHERN SYSTEM BY THIS EVENING. EARLIER THINKING IS THAT THE SOUTHERN SYSTEM WILL HAVE MORE IMPACT ON PRECIP DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER...THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...MOVING INTO NORTHERN MN WILL SHARPEN OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST BY THIS EVENING...AND NOW APPEAR TO BE THE MAIN SUPPORT FOR VERTICAL MOTION AND LIFT. MUCH OF THE DYNAMICS INITIALLY WILL GO TOWARD SATURATING THE LOWER LEVELS. LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN AND NORTHWEST PORTION OF OUR THE CWA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING WITH SNOW SPREADING INTO THE EASTERN PORTION THIS EVENING. PREFERRED THE ETA MODEL QPF AMOUNTS...EXPECT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AROUND AN INCH. BUMP UP MAX TEMPERATURES TODAY A BIT FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST AND RAISE MIN TEMPS TONIGHT. UPPER RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE NATION WILL SLOWING MOVE EAST OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. PERSISTENT CYCLONIC CIRCULATION BACK OVER THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES WILL KEEP CLOUDS AND THREAT OF LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES INTO TUESDAY...MAINLY OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MN...NONE. WI...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 8, 4:53 AM CST, 5 hours 7 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 453 AM CST SUN FEB 8 2004 MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028-091200- ANOKA-BARRON-BENTON-BLUE EARTH-BROWN-CARVER-CHIPPEWA-CHISAGO-DAKOTA- DOUGLAS-DUNN-EAU CLAIRE-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-GOODHUE-HENNEPIN-ISANTI- KANABEC-KANDIYOHI-LAC QUI PARLE-LE SUEUR-MARTIN-MCLEOD-MEEKER- MILLE LACS-MORRISON-NICOLLET-PEPIN-PIERCE-POLK-POPE-RAMSEY-REDWOOD- RENVILLE-RICE-RUSK-SCOTT-SHERBURNE-SIBLEY-ST CROIX-STEARNS-STEELE- STEVENS-SWIFT-TODD-WASECA-WASHINGTON-WATONWAN-WRIGHT-YELLOW MEDICINE- 453 AM CST SUN FEB 8 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Swift
- When
- February 8, 10:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Swift forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.283, -95.681 (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
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, February 2004
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: 5385734, 5385735.