Cold/Wind Chill in South Dakota

Events

605

Deaths

6

Injuries

2

Damage

None recorded

• Cold in South Dakota, January 15 to 16, 19972 deaths · 2 injured · 24 eventsTemperatures a few degrees below zero were accompanied by wind gusts over 40 mph creating wind chills as cold as 70 below zero. Drifting snow and areas of low visibility in blowing snow also occurred in open areas.
• Cold in South Dakota, December 8, 19961 death · 1 eventA Summit man died from exposure to the extreme cold after his vehicle became stuck in the snow. The man attempted to walk for help and was found about one mile from his car in the driveway of a home about a mile and a half west and one mile south of Summit.
• Cold in South Dakota, March 8, 20111 death · 1 eventA 97-year old Aberdeen woman died from exposure to the cold when she went outside her apartment patio and the door locked behind her. The woman was believed to be outside for 8 to 10 hours. The overnight low was 2 degrees above zero.
• Cold in South Dakota, February 2, 20151 death · 1 eventAn 88-year old woman in Columbia died from exposure as she had fallen and could not get back up. Low temperatures were in the single digits below zero with wind chills as low as 20 to 25 below zero.
• Cold in South Dakota, January 19, 20251 death · 1 eventA woman was found deceased just outside the city limits of Sioux Falls during the evening of January 19. The cause of death was exposure to the cold weather.
• Winter Weather and Cold in South Dakota, December 31, 201846 eventsAs a shortwave disturbance rotated around a large southwest U.S. closed low aloft and into confluent flow aloft across the Northern Plains, light wintry precipitation developed on December 31.
• Cold and Winter Weather in South Dakota, December 13 to 14, 202541 eventsA clipper system brought a band of light to moderate snowfall across southeast South Dakota, northeast Nebraska, and northwest Iowa during the early morning through midday hours of December 13.
• Cold in South Dakota, January 29 to 31, 199631 eventsWind chill readings as cold as 80 below zero occurred as winds over 30 mph combined with actual temperatures of 10 below to 30 below zero.
• Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 10 to 11, 202531 eventsA mid-level disturbance from Canada moved southeast across the Dakotas into Minnesota February 10-11, resulting in periods of light to moderate snowfall.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, December 31, 202127 eventsStrong high pressure built southward out of Canada, led by a weak wave of low pressure which increased the surface pressure gradient, and dropped a swath of light snowfall across southeast South Dakota and parts of southwest Minnesota.
• Cold in South Dakota, April 3 to 9, 200726 eventsArctic air moved into central and northeast South Dakota and remained for nearly a week. High temperatures from April 3rd to April 9th were mostly in the 20s to around 30 degrees with lows in the single digits and teens.
• Cold in South Dakota, December 17 to 18, 201624 eventsStrong winds, which were slowly decreasing after a snowfall, combined with bitterly cold arctic air to drive wind chills to 35 to 50 degrees below zero from late on December 17th through the morning of December 18th.
• Cold in South Dakota, December 25 to 27, 201724 eventsStrong winds and bitterly cold temperatures accompanied arctic high pressure which settled into the Northern Plains on Christmas Day.
• Cold in South Dakota, December 30 to 31, 201724 eventsAn Arctic airmass settled over the area, with high temperatures remaining below zero in most areas and low temperatures dropping to 15 below to 35 below zero, with the lowest values over northwestern South Dakota.
• Cold in South Dakota, January 1 to 2, 201824 eventsBitterly cold air remained across the area into the beginning of the new year. Lows on New Year's Day morning ranged from 15 below to 35 below zero across much of the area, with some locations across northwestern South Dakota dropping to 35 below to 45 below.
• Cold in South Dakota, January 1, 201924 eventsBitter wind chills continued into the New Year, as strong arctic high pressure surged southward into the Northern Plains.
• Cold in South Dakota, January 18 to 19, 202024 eventsBrisk winds in advance of the center of strong arctic high pressure brought wind chill readings to -25 to -35 during the overnight and morning of January 19.
• Cold in South Dakota, February 11 to 16, 202124 eventsAn Arctic air mass settled over the Northern Plains for a prolonged period, producing bitterly cold temperatures and extremely low wind chills. Low temperatures were well below zero across the area, with wind chills as low as 35 below to 50 below zero.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, January 6, 202224 eventsBehind a departing winter system, a strong arctic high settled into the region. Winds gusted to 45 to 60 mph as temperatures plummeted on the evening of January 4 into January 5.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, January 1, 202224 eventsA bitterly cold air mass with strong northerly winds resulted in a continuation from New Years Eve of dangerous wind chills from -35F to -45F across east central South Dakota into southwest Minnesota, with other areas reaching from -25F to -35F.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, February 22 to 23, 202224 eventsA strong arctic surface ridge moved southward behind the light snowfall and freezing rain on February 21-22. Northerly winds which gusted at times to 35 to 50 mph gradually diminished as temperatures dropped to zero to 10 below zero.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, February 23 to 24, 202324 eventsNorthwest winds from 10 to 20 mph with temperatures falling to the teens below zero produced wind chills from 30 below to 40 below zero.
• Cold in South Dakota, January 19 to 20, 202424 eventsAnother surge of arctic air dove southward into the Northern Plains behind a light snow event and brought a period of wind chills from 25 below to 40 below zero.
• Cold in South Dakota, February 1 to 2, 199622 eventsBitterly cold arctic air combined with north winds of 5 to 20 mph to produce record low temperatures and extreme wind chills. Wind chills ranged from 50 below to 70 below with actual temperatures ranging from 20 below to 40 below on the morning of the first.
• Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, February 12 to 13, 202022 eventsContinued strong wind and plummeting temperatures brought wind chills to 25 below to 45 below zero during the overnight and early morning hours.

Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in South Dakota

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.