Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Jones, South Dakota

A 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. Wind chill values on the morning of January 19th generally ranged between 30 to 40 degrees below zero, with a wind chill of 47 degrees below zero observed by the South Dakota Department of Transportation weather station near Summit. There was little improvement on January 20th, with temperatures starting in the teens to low 20s below zero and wind chills well below 40 degrees below zero, with the coldest observed wind chill of 54 degrees below zero at the Remote Automated Weather Station 13 miles northeast of Eureka. 12 other weather stations would record a minimum wind chill of 50 degrees below zero or colder. With the high pressure overhead, temperatures failed to warm above the zero degree mark across all of central, north central and northeast South Dakota. Temperatures again fell into the teens and low 20s below zero for the morning of January 21st, with many stations recording minimum wind chills in the 30 to 40 degrees below zero range. Again the coldest wind chill reading was recorded by the Department of Transportation weather station near Summit at 47 degrees below zero.