Minnesota, 2009

Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 14 to 15, 2009

January 14 to 15, 2009 · NWS FSD · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Very cold temperatures and moderate northwest winds combined to lower wind chill readings to 35 to 45 below zero at times from the morning of January 14th to early morning on January 15th. The strongest winds were at the start of the event.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
8

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 FSD wrote it up.

Very cold temperatures and moderate northwest winds combined to lower wind chill readings to 35 to 45 below zero at times from the morning of January 14th to early morning on January 15th. The strongest winds were at the start of the event. While winds decreased slowly on the night of January 14th, actual temperatures also dropped, reaching 20 below to 30 below zero near daybreak on January 15th, about which time winds became light and no longer a major factor.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 14, 3:55 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 14, 3:55 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 14, 5:11 AM CST, 49 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lincoln

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
44.413, -96.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lyon

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
44.414, -95.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing. The actual temperature dropped to 26 below zero at Marshall on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pipestone

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Pipestone forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
44.023, -96.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing. The actual temperature dropped to 26 below zero at Pipestone on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Murray

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Murray forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
44.022, -95.763 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing. The actual temperature dropped to 24 below zero at Slayton on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cottonwood

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Cottonwood forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
44.007, -95.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing. The actual temperature dropped to 24 below zero at Windom on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Nobles

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Nobles forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.674, -95.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing. The actual temperature dropped to 26 below zero at Worthington on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jackson

When
January 14, 6:00 AM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.674, -95.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate to strong northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. The coldest winds chills were during the morning of January 14th with strong winds, and the night of January 14th to daybreak of January 15th when temperatures were falling and winds were slowly decreasing. The actual temperature dropped to 26 below zero near Jackson on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Rock

When
January 14, 6:00 PM CST to January 15, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Rock forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.675, -96.253 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Moderate northwest winds and very cold air combined to lower wind chills to 35 to 45 below zero at times. While winds were slowly decreasing during this time period, temperatures were steadily dropping. The actual temperature dropped to 22 below zero at Luverne on the morning of January 15th after the wind had subsided.

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: 151061, 151066, 151067, 151068, 151069, 151071, 151076, 151085.