Bitter cold arctic air with temperatures of 20 to 35 below zero, and winds of 10 to 25 mph, resulted in wind chills of 40 to near 50 below zero. These conditions developed over parts of central North Dakota Tuesday the 19th, and continued into the early morning hours of Wednesday the 20th.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BIS wrote it up.
Bitter cold arctic air with temperatures of 20 to 35 below zero, and winds of 10 to 25 mph, resulted in wind chills of 40 to near 50 below zero. These conditions developed over parts of central North Dakota Tuesday the 19th, and continued into the early morning hours of Wednesday the 20th.
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 Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 19, 3:00 AM CST, 9 hours earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 406 AM CST TUE FEB 19 2008 NDZ001-002-009-010-017>020-031>034-040>046-201015- DIVIDE-BURKE-WILLIAMS-MOUNTRAIL-MCKENZIE-DUNN-MERCER-OLIVER- GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-MORTON-SLOPE-HETTINGER-GRANT-BOWMAN- ADAMS-SIOUX-EMMONS- 406 AM CST TUE FEB 19 2008 /306 AM MST TUE FEB 19 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A BACK DOOR COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHWESTERN AND WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA TODAY BRINGING COLDER TEMPERATURES. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL SLOWLY DURING THE DAY INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS WITH WINDS UP TO 10 MPH. OVERNIGHT LOWS TONIGHT WILL RANGE BETWEEN 10 AND 25 BELOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NDZ003>005-011>013-022-023-025-201015- RENVILLE-BOTTINEAU-ROLETTE-WARD-MCHENRY-PIERCE-SHERIDAN-WELLS- FOSTER- 406 AM CST TUE FEB 19 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CST THIS EVENING. BRISK NORTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL DEVELOP THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY RANGING BETWEEN ZERO AND 15 BELOW BY THIS EVENING. THE COMBINATION OF THE BRISK WINDS AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILLS OF 20 T0 35 BELOW TODAY THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. NDZ021-035>037-047-048-050-051-201015- MCLEAN-BURLEIGH-KIDDER-STUTSMAN-LOGAN-LA MOURE-MCINTOSH-DICKEY- 406 AM CST TUE FEB 19 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CST THIS EVENING. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS A BACK DOOR COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH FROM SOUTHERN CANADA. NORTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH PRODUCING WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES OF 20 TO 30 BELOW FROM NOON THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. KS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph persisted for over 12 hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 48 below zero at Rolla.
Wind chills of 40 to 45 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 43 below zero at Carrington.
Wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 47 below zero at Jamestown.
Wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 46 below zero at Oakes.
Wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 49 below zero at Marion.
Wind chills of 40 to 45 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 40 below zero at Rugby.
Wind chills of 35 to 45 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph persisted for a few hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 40 below zero at Harvey.
Wind chills of 40 to 50 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 44 below zero at Bottineau.
Wind chills of 40 to 45 below zero with wind speeds of 10 to 15 mph persisted for several hours. The lowest wind chill recorded was 40 below zero at Karlsruhe.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, February 2008
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: 74539, 74531, 74542, 74529, 74533, 74538, 74545, 74527, 74535.