Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — Faribault, Minnesota

2020-02-12 to 2020-02-13 · Faribault, Minnesota

Event narrative

Weather sensors indicated that wind chill values dropped below -35F by mid evening of Wednesday, February 12th. These wind chill values continued until Thursday morning.

Wider weather episode

The morning of Wednesday, February 12th, an Arctic front moved rapidly southward across the Dakotas, and into Minnesota. Temperatures fell 10 to 20 degrees in less than a couple hours as this front moved through the area. Along with the falling temperatures, wind speeds increased to 25 to 35 mph, with gusts in the 40 to 50 mph range in west central Minnesota by mid-morning, and across southwest/south central Minnesota by afternoon. Light snow accompanied the front, but as winds increased, visibility dropped to less than one quarter of a mile. This was noted on several weather sensors, including the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Local webcams, and MNDOT mobile cameras also supported the blizzard conditions. The worst conditions occurred along the South Dakota, Minnesota border where the strongest winds were reported. Satellite imagery also noted the contrast of where blowing snow occurred, and where skies were clear.

By the mid to late afternoon, temperatures fell well below zero in west-central Minnesota, with wind chills already exceeding -35F in Stevens County. These cold wind chills expanded south and east across Minnesota, and by the evening a broad area of wind chill values of -35 to -45 degrees developed. These wind chill values lasted through Thursday morning before temperatures rose, and wind speeds decreased.

Some of the lowest wind chill values during this time include:

-48F at Benson.

-46 at St. James.

-45 at Fairmont.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 868478. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.