Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Butler, Iowa

Broadly warm and mild winter conditions came to a harsh end in mid January. Aside from preceding snowfall and blizzard conditions (January 11 through 13), extreme cold and wind chills made their way into the region and remained for a period of a few days. Somewhat unusually, wind chill warning criteria was first met mid-day on the 13th as the Arctic airmass and gusty winds settled in. Coldest wind chills were experienced on the evening and overnight hours of the 13th into the 14th, with most areas dropping into the 40s to near 50 below zero. While wind chills were not as extreme through the remainder of the warning (through into the 16th), they were persistently in the 20s to 30s below zero, resulting in a long duration extreme cold/wind chill event. By about mid day on the 16th, wind chills warmed and remained above the 20s below zero.