Cold/Wind Chill, Douglas
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.934, -95.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Minnesota, December 24 to 26, 1996
Strong low pressure system which deposited heavy snow over much of Minnesota on 12/23/96, pulled extremely cold Canadian air southward over Minnesota on 12/24 and 12/25. The cold remained entrenched through 12/26.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 42 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
- 42
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.
Strong low pressure system which deposited heavy snow over much of Minnesota on 12/23/96, pulled extremely cold Canadian air southward over Minnesota on 12/24 and 12/25. The cold remained entrenched through 12/26. Temperatures fell to 15 to 35 degrees below zero Christmas Day morning and Thursday morning. The Twin Cities and St. Cloud set new record low temperatures both days. In addition, the high temperature on Christmas Day in the Twin Cities was only 9 degrees below zero. Combined with the record low temperature that morning of 22 below, the mean temperature for Christmas Day was 16 degrees below zero. Christmas Day, 1996 set a new record for being the coldest day on record for the Twin Cities metro area going back to when modern day records began in 1890. The next morning, the Twin Cities fell to 27 degrees below zero while St. Cloud plummeted to 34 below. Wild River State Park in Chisago County measured a temperature of 38 below.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
42 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Todd
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Todd forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.071, -94.898 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Morrison
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Morrison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.013, -94.268 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Mille Lacs
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Mille Lacs forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.938, -93.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Kanabec
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kanabec forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.945, -93.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Stevens
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Stevens forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.586, -96.000 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Pope
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Pope forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.586, -95.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Stearns
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Stearns forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.552, -94.613 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Benton
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Benton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.699, -93.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Sherburne
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sherburne forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.444, -93.775 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Isanti
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Isanti forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.562, -93.295 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Chisago
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Chisago forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.503, -92.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Lac Qui Parle
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lac Qui Parle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.996, -96.173 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Swift
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Swift forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.283, -95.681 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Chippewa
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Chippewa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.022, -95.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Kandiyohi
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kandiyohi forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.152, -95.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Meeker
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Meeker forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.123, -94.527 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Wright
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wright forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.174, -93.963 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Hennepin
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hennepin forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.005, -93.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Anoka
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Anoka forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.273, -93.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Ramsey
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ramsey forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.017, -93.100 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Washington
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.039, -92.884 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Yellow Medicine
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Yellow Medicine forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.716, -95.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Renville
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Renville forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.727, -94.947 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, McLeod
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- McLeod forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.824, -94.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Sibley
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sibley forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.580, -94.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Carver
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Carver forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.821, -93.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Scott
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.649, -93.536 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Dakota
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dakota forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.672, -93.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Redwood
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Redwood forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.404, -95.254 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Brown
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Brown forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.242, -94.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Nicollet
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Nicollet forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.350, -94.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Le Sueur
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Le Sueur forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.371, -93.730 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Rice
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Rice forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.354, -93.297 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Goodhue
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Goodhue forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.410, -92.723 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Watonwan
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Watonwan forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.978, -94.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Blue Earth
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Blue Earth forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.035, -94.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Waseca
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Waseca forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -93.587 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Steele
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Steele forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -93.226 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Martin
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Martin forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -94.551 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Faribault
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Faribault forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -93.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Freeborn
- When
- December 24, 6:00 PM CST to December 26, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Freeborn forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -93.349 (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
- Ice Storm in Oregon, December 24, 1996
- Cold in North Dakota, December 24, 1996
- Heat and High Wind in Massachusetts, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Strong Wind in Rhode Island, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Winter Storm in Montana, December 24 to 25, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, December 24 to 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 24 to 25, 1996
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5575296, 5575297, 5575298, 5575299, 5575300, 5575301, 5575302, 5575303, 5575304, 5575305, 5575306, 5575307, 5575308, 5575309, 5575310, 5575311, 5575312, 5575494, 5575495, 5575496, 5575497, 5575498, 5575499, 5575500, 5575501, 5575502, 5575503, 5575504, 5575505, 5575506, 5575507, 5575508, 5575509, 5575510, 5575511, 5575512, 5575513, 5575514, 5575515, 5575516, and more.