Extreme Cold in Nebraska, January 22 to 23, 2003

Name: Extreme Cold in Nebraska, January 22 to 23, 2003
Start: 2003-01-22T18:00
End: 2003-01-23T11:00
Location: Nebraska

January 22 to 23, 2003 · NWS OAX · 30 events in 30 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 30 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

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The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 30

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.

Bitter cold wind chills spread over eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa during late Wednesday afternoon 1/22/03 continuing into late Thursday morning the 23rd. Temperatures fell into the single digits below zero by Wednesday evening as north winds of 10 to 20 mph prevailed over the area. This combination resulted in wind chill values of 20 below to 30 below zero over all of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Actual temperatures finally bottomed out around 8 below to 15 below Thursday morning. Although winds also subsided as readings fell overnight...wind chill values continued around 20 below or a little colder until late Thursday morning.A homeless man in the Omaha area suffered severe frostbite because of the extreme cold, eventually dying 3 days later in an Omaha hospital.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

30 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dodge

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Dodge forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.578, -96.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Antelope

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Antelope forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.177, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Boone

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.707, -98.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Burt

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Burt forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.852, -96.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Butler

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.226, -97.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cass

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.910, -96.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cedar

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.599, -97.252 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Colfax

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Colfax forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.574, -97.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cuming

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Cuming forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.916, -96.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Douglas

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.295, -96.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Gage

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Gage forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.262, -96.689 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jefferson

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.176, -97.143 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Johnson

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.393, -96.265 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Knox

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.637, -97.892 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lancaster

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Lancaster forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.784, -96.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Madison

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.917, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Nemaha

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Nemaha forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.388, -95.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Otoe

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Otoe forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.649, -96.135 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pawnee

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Pawnee forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.132, -96.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pierce

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.264, -97.601 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Platte

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Platte forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.571, -97.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Richardson

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Richardson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.125, -95.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Saline

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.524, -97.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sarpy

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Sarpy forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.113, -96.112 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Saunders

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Saunders forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.226, -96.637 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Seward

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Seward forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.872, -97.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Stanton

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Stanton forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.917, -97.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Thurston

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Thurston forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.158, -96.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Washington

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.531, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wayne

When: January 22, 6:00 PM CST to January 23, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.209, -97.119 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dodge	2003-01-25	44	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

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

Every storm in Nebraska in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, January 2003

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: 5338590, 5338591, 5338592, 5338593, 5338594, 5338595, 5338596, 5338597, 5338598, 5338599, 5338600, 5338601, 5338602, 5338603, 5338604, 5338605, 5338606, 5338607, 5338608, 5338609, 5338610, 5338611, 5338612, 5338613, 5338614, 5338615, 5338616, 5338617, 5338618, 5338619.