Cold/Wind Chill, Monona
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Monona forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.052, -95.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Iowa, December 18 to 19, 1996
Strong northwest winds combined with cold temperatures to produce wind chills of 35 to 45 below zero.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
- 8
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 OAX wrote it up.
Strong northwest winds combined with cold temperatures to produce wind chills of 35 to 45 below zero.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Shelby forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.685, -95.310 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Harrison
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Harrison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.683, -95.817 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Pottawattamie
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pottawattamie forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.337, -95.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Mills
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Mills forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.034, -95.621 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Montgomery
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.030, -95.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Fremont
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Fremont forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.746, -95.605 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Page
- When
- December 18, 4:00 PM CST to December 19, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Page forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.739, -95.150 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Colorado, December 18, 1996
- Winter Storm in Alabama, December 18, 1996
- Cold in Nebraska, December 18 to 19, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Georgia, December 18, 1996
- Cold in Louisiana, December 18 to 21, 1996
- Winter Storm in Tennessee, December 18 to 19, 1996
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 18, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Carolina, December 18, 1996
- Cold in Mississippi, December 18 to 21, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Georgia, December 18, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, December 18, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 18 to 19, 1996
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, December 1996
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5581684, 5581685, 5581686, 5581687, 5581688, 5581689, 5581690, 5581691.