Minnesota, 2009

Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 13 to 15, 2009

January 13 to 15, 2009 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

After a clipper system dropped a couple inches of fresh snow on the 13th, Arctic high pressure and blustery north winds pushed into the area. The coldest air and the lowest wind chills of the season spread across much of west central Minnesota.

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

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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.

After a clipper system dropped a couple inches of fresh snow on the 13th, Arctic high pressure and blustery north winds pushed into the area. The coldest air and the lowest wind chills of the season spread across much of west central Minnesota. Wind chills fell to 35 to 50 degrees below zero late in the evening of the 13th and remained through the 14th and into the mid morning hours of the 15th. Wind chills were as low as 60 degrees below zero by the morning of the 15th. Many vehicles did not start because of the extreme cold and several schools had delayed starts.

The Arctic high pressure area settled in on the morning of the 15th bringing the coldest temperatures in many years. The combination of a fresh and deep snow pack, clear skies, and light winds allowed temperatures to fall to record or near record levels at several locations on the 15th. Browns Valley had a record low of -32 degrees and Wheaton and Artichoke Lake both had near record lows of -30 degrees on the morning of the 15th.

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 Jan 13, 8:18 PM CST, 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 13, 8:18 PM CST, 42 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 13, 8:53 PM CST, 7 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 13, 5:22 PM CST, 3 hours 38 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 6:26 PM CST, 2 hours 34 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 7:19 PM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 8:17 PM CST, 43 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Big Stone

When
January 13, 9:00 PM CST to January 15, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Big Stone forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.426, -96.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Traverse

When
January 13, 9:00 PM CST to January 15, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Traverse forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.772, -96.472 (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 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, 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: 152119, 152120.