Extreme Cold in North Dakota, January 18 to 20, 2012

Name: Extreme Cold in North Dakota, January 18 to 20, 2012
Start: 2012-01-18T00:00
End: 2012-01-20T08:00
Location: North Dakota

January 18 to 20, 2012 · NWS BIS · 36 events in 36 counties and zones

After a very mild start to the 2011-2012 winter season, an arctic airmass moved south over the Northern Plains region, resulting in air temperatures and wind chill temperatures to fall to 30 below zero and colder over west and central North Dakota.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 32 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: 36

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 BIS wrote it up.

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 Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 17, 2:58 PM CST, 9 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 17, 2:58 PM CST, 9 hours 2 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 17, 5:10 AM CST, 18 hours 50 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Divide

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Divide forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.815, -103.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Burke

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Burke forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.791, -102.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Renville

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Renville forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.719, -101.658 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Bottineau

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Bottineau forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.792, -100.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Rolette

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Rolette forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.772, -99.841 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Williams

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Williams forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.344, -103.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, McKenzie

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: McKenzie forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.740, -103.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Mountrail

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Mountrail forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.201, -102.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ward

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Ward forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, McHenry

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: McHenry forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.235, -100.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pierce

When: January 18, 12:00 AM CST to January 20, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.250, -99.972 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Golden Valley

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Golden Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.940, -103.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Billings

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Billings forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.023, -103.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dunn

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.357, -102.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Stark

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, McLean

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Mercer

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.309, -101.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Oliver

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Oliver forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.115, -101.340 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Morton

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Morton forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Burleigh

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Burleigh forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.977, -100.469 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sheridan

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.575, -100.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kidder

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Kidder forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.980, -99.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wells

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Wells forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.588, -99.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Stutsman

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Stutsman forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.979, -98.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Foster

When: January 18, 6:00 AM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Foster forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.457, -98.883 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Slope

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Slope forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.447, -103.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Bowman

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Bowman forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.113, -103.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Adams

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.097, -102.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hettinger

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Hettinger forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.433, -102.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Grant

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.358, -101.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sioux

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Emmons

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Emmons forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.285, -100.239 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Logan

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.457, -99.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, McIntosh

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: McIntosh forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.112, -99.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, La Moure

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: La Moure forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.457, -98.535 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dickey

When: January 18, 12:00 PM CST to January 19, 10:00 AM CST
Where: Dickey forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.110, -98.505 (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

Every storm in North Dakota in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, January 2012

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: 358456, 358457, 358458, 358459, 358460, 358461, 358462, 358463, 358464, 358465, 358466, 358467, 358468, 358469, 358470, 358471, 358472, 358473, 358474, 358475, 358476, 358477, 358478, 358479, 358480, 358481, 358482, 358483, 358484, 358485, 358486, 358487, 358488, 358489, 358490, 358491.