Minnesota, 2019

Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 1, 2019

January 1, 2019 · NWS DLH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

High pressure moved over Minnesota following a cold front that brought new snowfall to the area the following day. With cold, Canadian air pouring in, coupled with clear skies, light winds and fresh snow, temperatures plunged into the 30s below zero with wind chills in the 40s 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 DLH wrote it up.

High pressure moved over Minnesota following a cold front that brought new snowfall to the area the following day. With cold, Canadian air pouring in, coupled with clear skies, light winds and fresh snow, temperatures plunged into the 30s below zero with wind chills in the 40s below zero. However, many areas were spared from the extreme wind chills as winds completely subsided during the time of coldest temperatures.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 3:08 PM CST, 13 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 3:08 PM CST, 13 hours 52 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 31, 3:13 PM CST, 13 hours 47 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, Koochiching

When
January 1, 5:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Koochiching forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
48.245, -93.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Cass

When
January 1, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Southern Cass forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
46.950, -94.325 (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 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 2019

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: 798422, 798424.