Wisconsin, 2014

Extreme Cold in Wisconsin, January 23, 2014

January 23, 2014 · NWS MPX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong arctic front surged southward across the Upper Midwest early Wednesday morning January 22nd. After blizzard conditions subsided during the afternoon, skies cleared and temperatures dropped into the teens below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
3

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 MPX wrote it up.

A strong arctic front surged southward across the Upper Midwest early Wednesday morning January 22nd. After blizzard conditions subsided during the afternoon, skies cleared and temperatures dropped into the teens below zero. As winds continued around 10 to 15 mph, wind chill values dropped to -35F Thursday morning, January 23rd.

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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 22, 5:10 PM CST, 12 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 5:10 PM CST, 12 hours 50 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 22, 11:17 AM CST, 18 hours 43 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Barron

When
January 23, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Barron forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.424, -91.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill values dropped to 35 below zero across the county during the morning of Thursday, January 23rd. One of the lowest wind chill value was -39 degrees that occurred at the Cumberland airport.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Polk

When
January 23, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill values dropped to 35 below zero across the county during the morning of Thursday, January 23rd.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, St. Croix

When
January 23, 6:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chill values dropped to 35 below zero across the county during the morning of Thursday, January 23rd.

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 Wisconsin in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 486005, 486006, 486007.