Minnesota, 2014

Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 5 to 6, 2014

January 5 to 6, 2014 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The coldest air in recent history moved into the region during the afternoon hours of the 5th and continued into the afternoon hours of the 6th. The combination of sub-zero temperatures with north winds produced dangerously cold wind chills from 45 below to 50 degrees below zero.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

The coldest air in recent history moved into the region during the afternoon hours of the 5th and continued into the afternoon hours of the 6th. The combination of sub-zero temperatures with north winds produced dangerously cold wind chills from 45 below to 50 degrees below zero. Winds gusted to over 40 mph at times. Several area activities were cancelled, as well as several schools on Monday the 6th. Some of the lowest wind chills include; 45 degrees below at Wheaton and 48 degrees below zero at Ortonville.

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 Jan 4, 5:35 PM CST, 19 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 4, 5:35 PM CST, 19 hours 25 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Traverse

When
January 5, 1:00 PM CST to January 6, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Traverse forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Big Stone

When
January 5, 2:00 PM CST to January 6, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Big Stone forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.426, -96.411 (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 Minnesota in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 2014

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 487910, 487909.