Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Traverse, Minnesota

A series of Arctic air masses crossed the region over a period of 7 days beginning on Sunday, December 19th. Temperatures failed to even reach 5 degrees above zero during this period through December 26th, with lows consistently dropping into the teens and 20s below zero. An unusually potent blast of cold air for December followed in behind a reinforcing Arctic front Tuesday night, December 20th, into Wednesday, December 21st, along with a trace to as much as 2 to 4 of new snowfall on top of the pre-existing snow pack. Wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph behind this front impacted the region from the 21st through the 23rd, resulting in an extended period of life-threatening wind chills in the -35 to -50 degree F range and near blizzard conditions. The coldest measured wind chills include -48 F at Graceville, -47 F at Wheaton, -45 F at Ortonville (all on the 22nd).

The extreme cold made the threat to stranded motorists even more dangerous, as numerous roads were deemed No Travel Advised or closed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Numerous vehicle accidents occurred, and numerous schools closed throughout the event.