Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Benton
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Benton forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold in Iowa, December 23 to 24, 2000
Frigid Arctic air remained entrenched across the upper Midwest, and combined with a blustery northwest wind up to 20 miles an hour to produce dangerous wind chill values of 25 to 45 below zero. Actual temperatures fell to between five and ten below during the overnight hours.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 21 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
- 21
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 DVN wrote it up.
Frigid Arctic air remained entrenched across the upper Midwest, and combined with a blustery northwest wind up to 20 miles an hour to produce dangerous wind chill values of 25 to 45 below zero. Actual temperatures fell to between five and ten below during the overnight hours.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
21 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Buchanan
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Buchanan forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cedar
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cedar forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Clinton
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clinton forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Delaware
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Delaware forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Des Moines
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Des Moines forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dubuque
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dubuque forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Henry
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Henry forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Iowa
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jackson
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jefferson
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Johnson
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jones
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jones forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Keokuk
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Keokuk forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lee
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Linn
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Linn forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Louisa
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Louisa forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Muscatine
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Scott
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Van Buren
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Van Buren forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Washington
- When
- December 23, 10:00 PM CST to December 24, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Extreme Cold in Illinois, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 23 to 25, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Illinois, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Extreme Cold in Missouri, December 23 to 24, 2000
- Flood in Guam, December 23, 2000
- High Surf in California, December 23, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 23 to 24, 2000
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, December 2000
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: 5177558, 5177559, 5177560, 5177561, 5177562, 5177651, 5177652, 5177653, 5177654, 5177655, 5177656, 5177657, 5177658, 5177659, 5177660, 5177661, 5177662, 5177663, 5177664, 5177665, 5177666.