Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Day, South Dakota

2026-01-23 · Day, South Dakota

Wider weather episode

Arctic high pressure moving into the area resulted in extreme cold and dangerous wind chills. By Friday morning, much of the area was seeing temperatures of at least 20 degrees below zero, and as cold as 25 degrees below zero measured at the South Dakota State University mesonet stations in Gettysburg and 23 miles north of Highmore. With these cold temperatures and a northwest breeze, wind chills across much of the area had fallen to 40 degrees below zero and colder, with the South Dakota Department of Transportation mesonet station in Summit coming in with a wind chill of 53 degrees below zero. Temperatures failed to warm much during the day, with highs in the single digits to teens below zero. Watertown set a record for the lowest daily high temperature, reaching only 11 degrees below zero.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1301900. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.