Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Southern Aitkin, Minnesota

2019-01-29 to 2019-01-30 · Southern Aitkin, Minnesota

Wider weather episode

Heading into the last few days of January, a historically cold air mass settled over the region. This led to a prolonged period a sub-zero temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills. Many schools were closed for 2-3 days due to the cold. The coldest temperatures were seen January 30th into the 31st. All 5 of our climate sites recorded record low high temperatures on the 30th and International Falls set a new record low the morning of the 31st. A run was also made at the Minnesota state record low temperature the morning of the 31st when a COOP site at Cotton, Minnesota, reached -56F, which is good for 5th coldest all-time. Wind chills during this stretch remained in the 30s and 40s below zero with numerous locations reaching into the 50s below zero during the early morning hours. Temperatures finally started warming on the 31st as the core of the high moved to the east and warmer air began to move in ahead of an area of low pressure.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 798829. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.