Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Polk
- When
- January 16, 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Polk forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -93.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Extreme Cold in Iowa, January 16, 2009
A 65-year-old Carlisle man died on the morning of the 16th when his wheelchair became stuck in the snow in -18 F weather. It appeared the wheelchair became stuck in the snow as he was attempting to clear the pathway into his house.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 DMX wrote it up.
A 65-year-old Carlisle man died on the morning of the 16th when his wheelchair became stuck in the snow in -18 F weather. It appeared the wheelchair became stuck in the snow as he was attempting to clear the pathway into his house. He was found unconscious and cold around 0630 as trash collectors passed his home. He was taken to hospital and succumbed to hypothermia around 1000.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
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, Polk | 2009-01-16 | 65 | 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
- Winter Weather in North Dakota, January 16 to 18, 2009
- Cold in New Jersey, January 16 to 18, 2009
- Extreme Cold and Cold in New York, January 16, 2009
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, January 16 to 18, 2009
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 16 to 18, 2009
- Cold in Alabama, January 16 to 17, 2009
- Cold in New York, January 16 to 17, 2009
- Extreme Cold in Ohio, January 16 to 17, 2009
- Cold in Maryland, January 16 to 18, 2009
- Extreme Cold in Pennsylvania, January 16 to 17, 2009
- Extreme Cold in West Virginia, January 16 to 17, 2009
- Cold in Delaware, January 16 to 18, 2009
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, January 2009
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: 141258.