Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in South Dakota
Every extreme cold/wind chill event the National Weather Service has filed in South Dakota, 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 South Dakota.
- 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
- 1,388
- Deaths
- 6
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- None recorded
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 1 to 2, 2017A couple became stranded northeast of Eagle Butte on Jan 1st in snow and low visibility when their vehicle went into the ditch. It was very cold when the couple decided to walk to safety with both of them freezing to death.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 12 to 16, 2024Expansive high pressure out of Canada followed a clipper system resulting in high winds, arctic cold and dangerous wind chills on January 11th. A second system from the south followed close behind enhancing winds overnight January 12th into the 13th.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 24, 2017An elderly Revillo woman died of exposure while walking to find help after crashing her vehicle in rural Grant county a couple days before Christmas. An expansive search resulted in her body being found on Christmas Eve.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 25, 2018A 68 year-old Brown county woman died due to exposure to the cold. She was found near a grove of trees near Hecla on Thursday, January 25th.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 8, 2019A 58 year old woman at a mobile home park in Mobridge died of exposure. It appeared she fell down and could not get back up. The combination of lows in the upper teens along with strong northwest winds were believed to be responsible.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, January 6 to 8, 2010New snowfall varying from 2 to 8 inches, previous snow cover, and northwest winds gusting to over 40 mph combined to produce widespread blowing and drifting snow over all of southeast South Dakota.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, January 11 to 16, 2024A multi-faceted winter system impacted much of the area from the afternoon hours of January 11 through early on January 16.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 10 to 11, 2025A 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 in South Dakota, January 12 to 15, 2024An arctic air mass settled over the region for several days, producing extreme and dangerous wind chills across western and south-central South Dakota.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 19 to 20, 2025An arctic cold front passed through the region, bringing very cold temperatures from the 18th to the morning of the 21st. The coldest temperatures and lowest wind chills were during the overnight and morning hours of the 20th.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in South Dakota, December 31, 2021Strong 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.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 14 to 15, 2008As the blizzard wound down and visibilities improved, bitter cold wind chills remained through much of Monday the 15th. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero remained across the area. The bitter cold contributed to many of the school closings.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 20 to 21, 2008Arctic air combined with blustery northwest winds brought extreme wind chills to central and northeast South Dakota from the late afternoon of the 20th until the afternoon of the 21st. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero were common across the area.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 6 to 8, 2010Arctic high pressure combined with strong northwest winds resulting in extreme wind chills from 35 to nearly 50 degrees below zero across central and northeast South Dakota.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 1 to 2, 2011Well below zero temperatures under Arctic high pressure combined with north winds of 10 to 20 mph to bring extreme wind chills to the entire region. Wind chills of 35 below to 45 below zero occurred across the region from the evening of the 1st into the morning hours of the 2nd.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 5 to 6, 2014The coldest air in recent history moved into the region during the early morning hours of the 5th and continued into the afternoon hours of the 6th.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 17 to 18, 2016After the fresh snowfall from the day before, bitter cold Arctic air built into the region Saturday and Sunday bringing record low temperatures along with extreme wind chills to all of the region.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 30 to 31, 2017Several bouts of Arctic air and blustery winds brought extreme wind chills to all of central and northeast South Dakota. Wind chills of 35 degrees below to near 55 degrees below zero occurred off and on from December 30th into the first day of the new year.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 1, 2018Extreme wind chills which began on December 30th, 2017 across central and northeast South Dakota continued into January 1st. Wind chills of 35 to near 55 degrees below zero occurred off and on during this time.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, March 2 to 3, 2019Extremely cold arctic air dominated the weather across central and northeast South Dakota from the late evening of the 2nd through the morning of the 3rd. Record lows in the teens below and 20s below zero were set across the region.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 6 to 17, 2021A potent and persistent outbreak of Arctic air affected the entire region from February 6th through the 17th.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 22 to 23, 2022An extreme cold event occurred in conjunction with a series of systems that produced heavy snow and persistent winds.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, December 21 to 24, 2022A series of Arctic air masses crossed the region over period of 6 days beginning on Sunday, December 18th. Temperatures failed to even reach 5 degrees above zero during this period, with temperatures consistently dropping into the teens below zero at night.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, January 18 to 21, 2025A broad area of Arctic high pressure made a slow progression across the Northern and Central Plains starting on January 17th and finally departing late on January 21st.
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 17 to 20, 2025A second, more intense surge of Arctic air moved into the Northern and Central Plains between February 16 and 19. Low temperatures on the morning of February 17 ranged from the 20s to 30s below zero.
More
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in South Dakota
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.