In the wake of a weekend storm system that brought measurable snowfall to all of central and southern Minnesota, and the adjacent areas of west central Wisconsin, a surge of Arctic air moved southward. The core of the coldest air mass (that hadn't been felt across the Upper Midwest since the Winter of 1995-96) moved southward from Monday afternoon, January 28th, through Wednesday evening,…
Every event with a place to put it; 42 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.
In the wake of a weekend storm system that brought measurable snowfall to all of central and southern Minnesota, and the adjacent areas of west central Wisconsin, a surge of Arctic air moved southward.
The core of the coldest air mass (that hadn't been felt across the Upper Midwest since the Winter of 1995-96) moved southward from Monday afternoon, January 28th, through Wednesday evening, January 30th. The center of the cold air mass moved across Minnesota the afternoon of Tuesday, January 29th where 850mb temperatures were around -38F. Although temperatures slowly modified above the surface past the afternoon of Tuesday, January 29th, the combination of very strong winds and temperatures in the teens and 20s below zero, wind chill values averaged between 45 and 62 degrees below zero from Tuesday afternoon, through Wednesday morning. Although wind speeds lowered on Wednesday, actual temperatures in the 20s and 30s below zero kept wind chill values below -35F through Thursday morning.
These temperatures during this Arctic outbreak averaged nearly 50 degrees below average for late January. The worst conditions were across west central, southwest, and south central Minnesota where wind chill values averaged near -60F. A wind chill of -62F was measured at both Benson and Glenwood airports, with -60F at New Ulm during the height of the storm.
The -28 degrees F air temperature in the Twin Cities on January 30, 2019 was the coldest ambient air temperature in the Twin Cities since -32 degrees F on February 2, 1996.
The -13 degrees F maximum temperature on January 30, 2019 was the coldest maximum temperature since -17 degrees F on February 2, 1996.
The Twin Cities saw twelve straight hours of -50 degrees F or colder wind chill temperatures from 7pm on January 30 to 6am January 31, with the coldest reading of -55 at 11pm January 30. This was the coldest wind chill reading in the Twin Cities since January 19, 1985.
Unfortunately, a 46 year old woman died due to the extreme cold in Carver County. The individual was found outside of her vehicle in Laketown Township.
The bitter cold brought some natural gas shortages just north of the metro and power outages to about 7,000 in the southern and western suburbs. There were also broken water mains, and emergency personnel were busy with frostbite reports. Schools were closed for four days for many in the Twin Cities and outstate. The University of Minnesota was closed on the 30th and postal mail service was stopped statewide. At one point, CenterPoint Energy had asked hospitals to use alternate fuel sources during this extreme cold outbreak. The Twin Cities Public TV Now was disseminating extreme cold weather information in four languages on a continuous cycle. This was a collaborative project involving the NWS, State EM and TPT. Garbage collection was suspended. Numerous food services, grocery and department stores closed. The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport had numerous issues that were related to the extreme cold which included closing down specific areas of the airport due to heating problems. The airside operations had trouble with water and lav trucks freezing up. The Salvation Army helped 306 households (655 individuals) with more than $94,000 in mortgage/rent, utilities, and fuel cards, as well as over 5000 pounds of food. The Metro Transit in Minneapolis had one of the rails break due to the extreme cold.
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 28, 5:38 PM CST, 13 hours 22 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
42 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -62F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -62F at the Benson airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -62F at the Glenwood airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -55F at the Madison airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -57F at the Montevideo airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F at the Alexandria airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -56F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -57F at the Paynesville airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F at the Long Prairie airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -55F at the Little Falls airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday morning, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F at the St. Cloud airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -60F at the New Ulm airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -53F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F at the Olivia airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -56F at the Redwood Falls airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -60F at the New Ulm airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -55F at the Hutchinson airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -56F at the Litchfield airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -53F at the Buffalo airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F at the Mankato airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -54F at the Gaylord airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -56F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through early Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -54F at the Anoka airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -52F.
Unfortunately, a 46 year old woman died due to the extreme cold weather in Carver County. The individual was found outside of her vehicle in Laketown Township.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -54F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -54F at the Lakeville airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -55F at the Minneapolis, St. Paul International airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -52F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -52F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -59F at the Fairmont airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -52F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -56F at the Waseca airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -58F at the Owatonna airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through early Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -56F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -52F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -54F at the St. Paul airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -55F at the Albert Lea airport.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -53F.
Several local weather sources measured wind chill values lower than -35F from Tuesday afternoon, through Thursday morning. The coldest wind chill was -54F.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Carver | 2019-01-30 | 46 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 2019
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: 800151, 800154, 800155, 800149, 800128, 800134, 800153, 800165, 800166, 800056, 800167, 800168, 800124, 800146, 800156, 800157, 800160, 800163, 800164, 800170, 800057, 800161, 800172, 800055, 800125, 800131, 800132, 800135, 800140, 800143, 800144, 800158, 800159, 800171, 800173, 800174, 800175, 800177, 800178, 800137, and more.