Minnesota, 2008

Extreme Cold in Minnesota, December 15, 2008

December 15, 2008 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

As the blizzard wound down and visibilities improved, bitter cold wind chills remained across the area through much of Monday the 15th. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero occurred across the area.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

As the blizzard wound down and visibilities improved, bitter cold wind chills remained across the area through much of Monday the 15th. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero occurred across the area. The bitter cold contributed to many of the school closings.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 14, 3:43 PM CST, 10 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 3:43 PM CST, 10 hours 17 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 14, 4:46 AM CST, 21 hours 14 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
446 AM CST SUN DEC 14 2008

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-151100-
TRAVERSE-BIG STONE-CORSON-CAMPBELL-MCPHERSON-BROWN-MARSHALL-
ROBERTS-WALWORTH-EDMUNDS-DAY-DEWEY-POTTER-FAULK-SPINK-CLARK-
CODINGTON-GRANT-HAMLIN-DEUEL-STANLEY-SULLY-HUGHES-HYDE-HAND-JONES-
LYMAN-BUFFALO-
446 AM CST SUN DEC 14 2008 /346 AM MST SUN DEC 14 2008/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT FOR PORTIONS
OF THE FORECAST AREA MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM HIGHMORE
TO EUREKA. EAST OF THAT LINE RESIDENTS COULD SEE ANYWHERE FROM 6
TO 15 INCHES OF SNOW OUT OF THIS EVENT. WIND CHILL VALUES OF 35
BELOW TO 50 BELOW ZERO WILL ALSO LIKELY PROMPT A WIND CHILL
HEADLINE LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF CHANCES FOR LIGHT SNOW ON TUESDAY AND AGAIN
THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN IS ASKING SPOTTERS AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT TO REPORT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...WIND SPEEDS AND ANY
REDUCTION TO VISIBILITY.

DORN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Traverse

When
December 15, 2:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Traverse forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Big Stone

When
December 15, 3:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Big Stone forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.426, -96.411 (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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, December 2008

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 147373, 147372.