Alert archive / Minnesota / Extreme Cold Warnings in 2026

Extreme Cold Warning 1, NWS Grand Forks, ND

January 20, 202618 counties in Minnesota; 17 counties in North Dakota

NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this extreme cold warning at Jan 20, 2026, 1:07 PM CST for 18 counties in Minnesota; 17 counties in North Dakota. It took effect at Jan 22, 2026, 3:00 AM CST. It was in force for 4 days. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 20, 2026, 1:07 PM CST (19:07 UTC)
In effect from
Jan 22, 2026, 3:00 AM CST
Expired
Jan 26, 2026, 6:51 AM CST
In force
4 days
Issued by
NWS Grand Forks, ND
All 35 counties

Becker County, MN, Beltrami County, MN, Clay County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Grant County, MN, Hubbard County, MN, Kittson County, MN, Lake of the Woods County, MN, Mahnomen County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Norman County, MN, Otter Tail County, MN, Pennington County, MN, Polk County, MN, Red Lake County, MN, Roseau County, MN, Wadena County, MN, Wilkin County, MN, Barnes County, ND, Benson County, ND, Cass County, ND, Cavalier County, ND, Eddy County, ND, Grand Forks County, ND, Griggs County, ND, Nelson County, ND, Pembina County, ND, Ramsey County, ND, Ransom County, ND, Richland County, ND, Sargent County, ND, Steele County, ND, Towner County, ND, Traill County, ND, Walsh County, ND

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 32 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:09 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Bismarck Municip, ND (KBIS), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 300 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2026-01-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Bismarck Municip, ND at 12:00Z on 2026-01-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 140 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
658 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The office that day

Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 20, 1:07 PM CSTCold Weather AdvisoryFGFBecker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen and 4 more47 hr
Jan 20, 1:07 PM CSTExtreme Cold WatchFGFBecker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Grant, Hubbard and 12 more48 hr
Jan 20, 1:07 PM CSTWinter Weather AdvisoryFGFClay, Grant, Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail and 2 more31 hr

Nearby

Extreme Cold Warnings in Minnesota, 2026Extreme Cold Warnings in North Dakota, 2026Every extreme cold warning in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.