Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Big Stone
- When
- February 2, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 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 in Minnesota, February 2, 2011
Well below zero temperatures under Arctic high pressure combined with north winds of 10 to 20 mph to bring extreme wind chills to west central Minnesota. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero occurred through the morning hours of the 2nd.
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
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.
Well below zero temperatures under Arctic high pressure combined with north winds of 10 to 20 mph to bring extreme wind chills to west central Minnesota. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero occurred through the morning hours of the 2nd.
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 Feb 1, 10:21 PM CST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 1, 10:21 PM CST, 2 hours 39 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
1021 PM CST TUE FEB 1 2011
.UPDATE...
NO CHANGES MADE TO THE FORECAST THIS EVENING. NEW AVIATION
DISCUSSION BELOW.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT
MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE CONTINUES TO BE HOW COLD WILL WE GO BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING. A BRIEF LOOK INTO PREVIOUS OVERNIGHT LOW
TEMPERATURES OF -35F OR COLDER...THE SURFACE HIGH CENTER (CENTER
OF THE COLD AIRMASS) WAS OVER OR JUST EAST OF THE JAMES RIVER
VALLEY. GFS ALSO HINTING AT SCATTERED CIRRUS EJECTING
NORTHWESTWARD FROM THE LARGE CLOSED LOW OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS
WHICH WOULD LIMIT RADIATIONAL COOLING SOMEWHAT. WENT JUST ABOVE
THE -35 DEGREE MARK FOR ABERDEEN AND SURROUNDING AREAS SINCE WE
COULD NOT FIND A CASE COLDER THAN THAT IN THE PAST 32 YEARS WHERE
THE SURFACE HIGH CENTER/COLD DOME CENTER WAS WEST.
NONETHELESS...ALL AREAS IN THE CWA WILL APPROACH NEAR RECORD LOWS.
PERSISTENT NORTH WINDS CONTINUING IN THE 15-20KT RANGE THIS
AFTERNOON...KEEPING WIND CHILL VALUES IN THE MINUS 25F TO MINUS
30F RANGE. AS TEMPS SLOWLY FALL AROUND SUNSET...WIND CHILL VALUES
WILL DROP INTO THE BRUTALLY COLD MINUS 40 TO MINUS 54 DEGREES RANGE
DURING THE EVENING...CONTINUING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.
IMPROVING WIND CHILL VALUES ARE EXPECTED BY THE EARLY AFTERNOON AS
TEMPERATURES MODERATE TO NEAR ZERO. BY LATE WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON...VERY STRONG SURFACE HIGH CONTINUES TO SINK SOUTHWARD
INTO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS...LEAVING THE AREA IN A WEST-
SOUTHWESTERLY SURFACE WIND FLOW AND WEAK WARM AIR ADVECTION. THE
WARM ADVECTION WILL LEAD TO MODERATING TEMPERATURES THURSDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT.
.LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY
MILDER AIR WILL BE MOVING INTO THE REGION ON FRIDAY AS 925MB TEMPS
ARE A DEGREE OR SO EITHER SIDE OF 0C. HIGHS WILL REACH THE 20S AND
30S. STILL QUITE A BIT OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE TIMING AND STRENGTH
OF A CLIPPER SYSTEM WHICH LOOKS TO SLIDE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE
NORTHERN PLAINS THIS WEEKEND. GENERALLY HAVE 20 OR 30S POPS IN THE
GRIDS TO COVER THIS UNTIL BETTER AGREEMENT IS REACHED IN THE
MODELS. CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE POINTING TO ANOTHER ARCTIC
OUTBREAK AFTER THE BRIEF MODERATION ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THIS
NEXT ARCTIC INTRUSION LOOKS TO ARRIVE BY EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH
925MB TEMPS DROPPING BACK DOWN INTO THE -20S C.
&&
.AVIATION...
TAFS FOR THE KABR...KATY...KPIR AND KMBG TERMINALS
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVERNIGHT UNDER MAINLY CLEAR SKIES.
VSBYS WILL BE UNRESTRICTED.
&&
.ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...WIND CHILL WARNING UNTIL NOON CST /11 AM MST/ WEDNESDAY FOR
BROWN-BUFFALO-CAMPBELL-CLARK-CODINGTON-CORSON-DAY-DEUEL-
DEWEY-EDMUNDS-FAULK-GRANT-HAMLIN-HAND-HUGHES-HYDE-JONES-
LYMAN-MARSHALL-MCPHERSON-POTTER-ROBERTS-SPINK-STANLEY-SULLY-
WALWORTH.
MN...WIND CHILL WARNING UNTIL NOON CST WEDNESDAY FOR BIG STONE-
TRAVERSE.
&&
UPDATE...PARKIN
SHORT TERM...CHURCH
LONG TERM...TMT
AVIATION...PARKIN
WEATHER.GOV/ABERDEENHazardous weather outlook, Feb 1, 2:59 PM CST, 10 hours 1 minute before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 259 PM CST TUE FEB 1 2011 MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-022100- TRAVERSE-BIG STONE-CORSON-CAMPBELL-MCPHERSON-BROWN-MARSHALL- ROBERTS-WALWORTH-EDMUNDS-DAY-DEWEY-POTTER-FAULK-SPINK-CLARK- CODINGTON-GRANT-HAMLIN-DEUEL-STANLEY-SULLY-HUGHES-HYDE-HAND-JONES- LYMAN-BUFFALO- 259 PM CST TUE FEB 1 2011 /159 PM MST TUE FEB 1 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A WIND CHILL ADVISORY TODAY...FOR WIND CHILLS FROM 20 BELOW TO 35 BELOW ZERO...WILL BE REPLACED TONIGHT BY A WIND CHILL WARNING FOR WIND CHILLS FROM 35 BELOW TO 53 BELOW ZERO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST ON WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Traverse
- When
- February 2, 1:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Traverse forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
- 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
- Extreme Cold and Frost and Freeze in Arizona, February 2 to 3, 2011
- Winter Weather in Minnesota, February 2, 2011
- Cold in Illinois, February 2 to 4, 2011
- Frost and Freeze in Texas, February 2 to 4, 2011
- Frost and Freeze in Arizona, February 2 to 4, 2011
- Frost and Freeze in Nevada, February 2 to 3, 2011
- Winter Storm in Vermont, February 2, 2011
- Winter Weather in Connecticut, February 2 to 4, 2011
- Winter Storm in New York, February 2, 2011
- High Wind in California, February 2 to 3, 2011
- Flood in Ohio, February 2, 2011
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 2 to 3, 2011
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, February 2011
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 285884, 285885.