Iowa, 2013

Cold in Iowa, January 20 to 21, 2013

January 20 to 21, 2013 · NWS FSD · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Moderate to strong northwest winds and bitterly cold air combined to lower wind chill readings to 20 to 35 degrees below zero over part of northwest Iowa from the evening of January 20th through the morning of January 21st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
6

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.

Moderate to strong northwest winds and bitterly cold air combined to lower wind chill readings to 20 to 35 degrees below zero over part of northwest Iowa from the evening of January 20th through the morning of January 21st.

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 20, 5:15 PM CST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 5:15 PM CST, 45 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 20, 2:06 PM CST, 3 hours 54 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 20, 2:26 PM CST, 3 hours 34 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 20, 3:22 PM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 20, 5:19 PM CST, 41 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 20, 5:24 PM CST, 36 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 20, 5:35 PM CST, 25 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 20, 5:38 PM CST, 22 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

6 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Lyon

When
January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.381, -96.210 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures well below zero to lower wind chills to 20 to 35 degrees below zero.

Cold/Wind Chill, Osceola

When
January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Osceola forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
43.379, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures well below zero to lower wind chills to 20 to 35 degrees below zero.

Cold/Wind Chill, Dickinson

When
January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Dickinson forecast zone
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures well below zero to lower wind chills to 20 to 35 degrees below zero.

Cold/Wind Chill, O'Brien

When
January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where
O'Brien forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.084, -95.625 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures well below zero to lower wind chills to 20 to 35 degrees below zero.

Cold/Wind Chill, Clay

When
January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures well below zero to lower wind chills to 20 to 35 degrees below zero.

Cold/Wind Chill, Buena Vista

When
January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Buena Vista forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph combined with temperatures well below zero to lower wind chills to 20 to 35 degrees below zero.

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Iowa in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, January 2013

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: 428981, 428982, 428983, 428984, 428985, 428986.