Wisconsin, 2014

Extreme Cold in Wisconsin, January 5 to 8, 2014

January 5 to 8, 2014 · NWS MPX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

The coldest wind chills in many years moved across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest the week of January 5th, 2014. Temperatures dropped into the 20s and 30s below zero range and with wind speeds around 10 to 20 mph, wind chill values plummeted to 40 to 55 degrees below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

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.

The coldest wind chills in many years moved across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest the week of January 5th, 2014. Temperatures dropped into the 20s and 30s below zero range and with wind speeds around 10 to 20 mph, wind chill values plummeted to 40 to 55 degrees below zero. The worst wind chill values occurred Sunday night (January 5) and Monday morning (January 6) when the core of the coldest air moved across Minnesota and Wisconsin. A 76 year old woman walked away from an assisted living facility in Barron early on January 8 and succumbed to the cold that morning. Wind chill warnings were in effect across the entire region.

The following are some of the lowest wind chill readings during the two day period.

New Richmond, (St. Croix County), -50. |Cumberland, (Barron County), -50. |Ladysmith, (Rusk County), -49. |Stanley, (Chippewa County), -49. |Menomonie, (Dunn County), -48. |Osceola, (Polk County), -48. |River Falls, (Pierce County), -46.

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 5, 5:34 PM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 5, 5:34 PM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 5, 2:18 PM CST, 5 hours 42 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

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

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pierce

When
January 5, 8:00 PM CST to January 7, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Pierce forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Polk

When
January 5, 8:00 PM CST to January 7, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Polk forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, St. Croix

When
January 5, 8:00 PM CST to January 7, 3:00 AM CST
Where
St. Croix forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Barron

When
January 5, 9:00 PM CST to January 8, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Barron forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.424, -91.848 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions. A 76 year old woman walked away from an assisted living facility in Barron early on January 8 and succumbed to the cold that morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dunn

When
January 5, 9:00 PM CST to January 7, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Dunn forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.947, -91.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pepin

When
January 5, 9:00 PM CST to January 7, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Pepin forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.483, -92.150 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Chippewa

When
January 5, 10:00 PM CST to January 8, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Chippewa forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.069, -91.280 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eau Claire

When
January 5, 10:00 PM CST to January 7, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Eau Claire forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.727, -91.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Rusk

When
January 5, 10:00 PM CST to January 8, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Rusk forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.475, -91.133 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several sources from local observations indicated that a prolonged period of wind chill values below -35F occurred in the county, with locally -50F or lower during the height of the cold conditions.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Barron2014-01-0876FemaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

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: 482305, 482306, 482308, 482300, 482302, 482304, 482301, 482303, 482307.