South Dakota, 2011

Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 8, 2011

February 8, 2011 · NWS ABR · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

Arctic high pressure and north winds brought extreme wind chills from 35 below to 45 below zero across north central and northeast South Dakota from the early morning until around noon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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
18

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.

Arctic high pressure and north winds brought extreme wind chills from 35 below to 45 below zero across north central and northeast South Dakota from the early morning until around noon.

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 7, 10:29 PM CST, 4 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 10:29 PM CST, 4 hours 31 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 7, 4:16 AM CST, 22 hours 44 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Roberts

When
February 8, 3:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Roberts forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, McPherson

When
February 8, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
McPherson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Edmunds

When
February 8, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Edmunds forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Marshall

When
February 8, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Day

When
February 8, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Day forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Clark

When
February 8, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Deuel

When
February 8, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Deuel forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.760, -96.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Campbell

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Campbell forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Walworth

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Potter

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Potter forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Faulk

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Faulk forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Brown

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Spink

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Spink forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.938, -98.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Codington

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Codington forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.978, -97.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hamlin

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Hamlin forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.674, -97.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Grant

When
February 8, 5:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Corson

When
February 8, 7:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Corson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dewey

When
February 8, 7:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Dewey forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.157, -100.872 (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 South Dakota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 286592, 286582, 286583, 286587, 286588, 286589, 286594, 286579, 286580, 286581, 286584, 286585, 286586, 286590, 286591, 286593, 286577, 286578.