Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 20 to 22, 2013

Name: Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 20 to 22, 2013
Start: 2013-01-20T18:00
End: 2013-01-22T06:59
Location: Minnesota

January 20 to 22, 2013 · NWS FGF · 24 events in 24 counties and zones

In the wake of the ground blizzard on the 19th that affected portions of northeast North Dakota and the extreme northwest corner of Minnesota, frigid air moved into the region. Morning lows across the area on the 21st ranged from 15 below to 25 below zero, while daytime highs mainly stayed below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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: 24

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 FGF 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 Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 20, 2:29 PM CST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 2:29 PM CST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 20, 7:11 AM CST, 10 hours 49 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Kittson

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Kittson forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.777, -96.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, West Marshall

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where: West Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.358, -96.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, West Polk

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where: West Polk forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.774, -96.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Norman

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Norman forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.327, -96.455 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Clay

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 10:51 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.892, -96.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wilkin

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 10:51 AM CST
Where: Wilkin forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.357, -96.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, West Otter Tail

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 10:51 AM CST
Where: West Otter Tail forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.409, -95.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Grant

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 21, 10:51 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 45.934, -96.012 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Roseau

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Roseau forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.775, -95.811 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lake of the Woods

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Lake of the Woods forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.771, -94.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, East Marshall

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: East Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.358, -96.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, North Beltrami

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: North Beltrami forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.974, -94.938 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, South Beltrami

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: South Beltrami forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.974, -94.938 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pennington

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Pennington forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 48.066, -96.037 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Red Lake

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Red Lake forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.872, -96.095 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, East Polk

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: East Polk forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.774, -96.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Mahnomen

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Mahnomen forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.325, -95.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, North Clearwater

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: North Clearwater forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.578, -95.379 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, South Clearwater

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: South Clearwater forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.578, -95.379 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, West Becker

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: West Becker forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.935, -95.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, East Becker

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: East Becker forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.935, -95.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, East Otter Tail

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: East Otter Tail forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.409, -95.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hubbard

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Hubbard forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 47.109, -94.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Wadena

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST to January 22, 6:59 AM CST
Where: Wadena forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.586, -94.969 (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 Minnesota in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, 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: 420812, 420813, 420814, 420815, 420816, 420817, 420818, 420819, 420820, 420821, 420822, 420823, 420824, 420825, 420826, 420827, 420828, 420829, 420830, 420831, 420832, 420833, 420834, 420835.