Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Minnesota
Every extreme cold/wind chill event the National Weather Service has filed in Minnesota, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
The most significant on the map
The most significant extreme cold/wind chill episodes in Minnesota.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 2,915
- Deaths
- 14
- Injuries
- 4
- Damage
- $55,000
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, December 21 to 24, 2022Arctic air began moving across the Upper Midwest on Dec 21-22 following the snow. Winds increased from west to east across the forecast area, creating dangerously cold wind chills of -30 to -48 F.
- Extreme Cold and Winter Weather in Minnesota, February 9 to 10, 2008An arctic cold front moved through the area during the afternoon of February 9. This system was accompanied by falling temperatures and strong northwest wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, December 17 to 18, 2016The coldest air mass in nearly 3 years overspread the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest Saturday night and Sunday morning, December 17th-18th.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 29 to 31, 2019One person died from hypothermia in Rochester (Olmsted County) on January 30th after being stranded outside a house overnight. Automated weather observing equipment at the Rochester airport recorded a low temperature of 29 below zero with wind chills as low as 60 below zero.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 5 to 7, 2014The coldest wind chills in many years moved across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest the week of January 5th, 2014.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 29 to 31, 2019In 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.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 1, 2018The coldest air mass since December 2016 remained across the Upper Midwest for the first day of 2018. Although wind speeds dropped some from the previous day, wind speeds averaged around 10 mph, which kept wind chill values near -35F.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 29 to 30, 2008A surface low tracked across North Dakota and into north central Minnesota on Monday, January 28th. A strong surface pressure gradient set up over eastern North Dakota and the northwest quarter of Minnesota as the low pushed into southwest Ontario Monday night.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, December 12, 2016After a weekend snow storm and arctic high pressure building across the Upper Midwest, temperatures fell well below normal, with wind chills around -20F the morning of Monday, December 12th. Local authorities identified a woman who froze to death in St. Paul.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, December 3 to 4, 2007A 52 year old homeless man died of exposure after falling asleep in a bus shelter in Moorhead. He was found by a person walking by the bus shelter the morning of the 4th.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 2, 2008A strong arctic cold front moved into central and southern Minnesota on January 1, dropping temperatures below zero.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 25, 2009A Duluth man died from hypothermia after leaving a bar during the early morning hours of the 25th. The temperature in Duluth was in the teens below zero with a wind chill of about 30 below zero.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 26, 2009An elderly Hibbing man died from hypothermia in the early morning hours of the 26th. The temperature at the time was around 22 below zero, with a wind chill of about 34 below. Evidence at the scene indicates he may have fallen more than once.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 2, 2014A man apparently fell outside his New Ulm home during the afternoon and died that evening due to exposure from the cold. The high temperature at New Ulm that afternoon was Zero degrees F, and a few hours later, the temperature fell to -18 F during the evening of the 2nd.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, February 13 to 15, 2021During the first week of February, an Arctic air mass moved southward across the Upper Midwest and continued through the middle of the month.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 27 to 28, 2014After another Upper Midwest Blizzard, temperatures dropped into the teens below zero or lower, with winds averaging 10 to 20 mph from the northwest. This created wind chill values of 35 below zero for a long period from early Monday January 27th, to Tuesday, January 28th.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 22 to 23, 2014A 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.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Minnesota, February 17 to 19, 2025A series of cold fronts brought a frigid Canadian air mass and breezy northwest winds from the night of February 16 to the morning of February 19.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 22 to 23, 2026A push of dangerously cold air spread across the Upper Midwest behind a series of strong arctic fronts from January 21 through January 23.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 16 to 17, 2016An arctic air mass moved southward across the Upper Midwest during the weekend of January 16th and 17th. Actual air temperatures fell into the teens, and to near 20 degrees below zero Sunday morning.
- Blizzard and Extreme Cold in Minnesota, February 12 to 13, 2020The morning of Wednesday, February 12th, an Arctic front moved rapidly southward across the Dakotas, and into Minnesota. Temperatures fell 10 to 20 degrees in less than a couple hours as this front moved through the area.
- Extreme Cold and Winter Weather in Minnesota, January 13 to 14, 2024Light snow spread across the region on the 12th. As the snow was ending, northwest winds increased and temperatures dropped below zero on the 13th. There was blowing snow across western and central Minnesota, but the lack of snow on the ground kept travel impacts to a minimum.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 22 to 26, 2026Arctic air settled into the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest resulting in a prologued period of extreme cold and wind chills across northwest and west central Minnesota.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 25 to 26, 2022A large area of Arctic high pressure built across the Upper Midwest from Monday, January 24, through Tuesday, January 25th. The center of the high moved across the region Tuesday, with return flow developing Tuesday night and Wednesday the 26th.
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, January 28 to 30, 2023For a period of 2 days, dangerously cold wind chills affected NW Minnesota. Wind Chills got as low as -55F during this period. This event was caused by an arctic air mass that settled into the region after a system on the 27th.
More
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in Minnesota
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 2026-09-24.