Cold/Wind Chill, Traverse
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 2, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Traverse forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Minnesota, February 1 to 2, 1996
Bitterly cold arctic air combined with north winds from 5 to 20 mph to produce extreme wind chills. Wind chills were from 50 below to 70 below with actual temperatures from 25 below to 40 below on the morning of the first.
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 ABR wrote it up.
Bitterly cold arctic air combined with north winds from 5 to 20 mph to produce extreme wind chills. Wind chills were from 50 below to 70 below with actual temperatures from 25 below to 40 below on the morning of the first. Then, as north winds increased to 15 to 25 mph, the wind chills fell to the 60 below to 85 below range by late afternoon and during the night. Wind speeds decreased by the late morning of the second, allowing wind chills to rise to the 40 below to 60 below range. By 4 pm cst, the winds had decreased enough to keep wind chills in the 20 below to 40 below range.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Big Stone
- When
- February 1, 12:00 AM CST to February 2, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Big Stone forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.426, -96.411 (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 Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Mississippi, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Wyoming, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Michigan, February 1 to 6, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Montana, February 1, 1996
- Ice Storm in Mississippi, February 1 to 2, 1996
- Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 5, 1996
- Winter Storm in Texas, February 1 to 2, 1996
- Winter Storm in Alabama, February 1 to 3, 1996
- Winter Storm in Mississippi, February 1 to 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, February 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: 5542092, 5542093.