Minnesota, 1999

Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 1 to 2, 1999

January 1 to 2, 1999 · NWS FSD · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Visibilities were educed to less than 1/2 mile at times. Actual temperatures dropped to as low as 20 below zero with wind chills as cold as 55 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 FSD wrote it up.

A Major winter storm brought 6 to 12 inches of new snow, along with 20 to 40 mph winds which caused blowing and drifting snow and dangerous wind chills.Visibilities were educed to less than 1/2 mile at times. Actual temperatures dropped to as low as 20 below zero with wind chills as cold as 55 below zero. Travel was difficult, hazardous, and greatly curtailed. Otherwise major problems were few on the holiday weekend, as most people heeded warnings and did not travel during the storm.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cottonwood

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Cottonwood forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.007, -95.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jackson

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.674, -95.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.413, -96.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.414, -95.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Murray

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Murray forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.022, -95.763 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nobles

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Nobles forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.674, -95.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pipestone

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Pipestone forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.023, -96.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rock

When
January 1, 8:00 AM CST to January 2, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Rock forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.675, -96.253 (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 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 1999

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: 5680532, 5680533, 5680534, 5680535, 5680536, 5680537, 5680538, 5680539.