Minnesota, 2008

Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 29 to 30, 2008

January 29 to 30, 2008 · NWS ARX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

An arctic cold front moved across southeast Minnesota on January 29. Very cold temperatures and strong northwest winds combined to produce dangerously cold wind chill values between 30 below and 50 below during the night and into the morning hours of January 30.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
7

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 ARX wrote it up.

An arctic cold front moved across southeast Minnesota on January 29. Very cold temperatures and strong northwest winds combined to produce dangerously cold wind chill values between 30 below and 50 below during the night and into the morning hours of January 30.

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 3:06 PM CST, 3 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 3:06 PM CST, 3 hours 54 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 29, 3:33 PM CST, 3 hours 27 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 29, 2:25 PM CST, 4 hours 35 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dodge

When
January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.023, -92.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Mower

When
January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Mower forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.672, -92.752 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Olmsted

When
January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Olmsted forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.004, -92.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Fillmore

When
January 29, 7:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.674, -92.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wabasha

When
January 29, 9:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Wabasha forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.284, -92.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Winona

When
January 29, 9:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Winona forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.987, -91.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Houston

When
January 29, 9:00 PM CST to January 30, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Houston forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
43.671, -91.493 (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, January 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 72682, 72683, 72684, 72685, 72687, 72688, 72689.