From January 27-31, 2019, the arctic cold outbreak had some of the lowest air temperatures to visit Minnesota since 1996 and the lowest wind chills since the 1980s.
Strong winds and arctic air on the heels of a clipper-like snowstorm brought extreme cold to Minnesota and the surrounding areas. These bitter cold temperatures brought some natural gas shortages just north of the metro and power outages to about 7,000 in the southern and western suburbs. Xcel Energy even asked customers statewide to reduce their thermostat setting to 63° to help prevent issues. School districts were closed for four days for many in the Twin Cities area and outstate. The University of Minnesota was closed on the 30th, and postal mail service was stopped statewide all due to these extremely cold temperatures. The graphic below shows the letter sent out by the USPS.
Air Temperature Recap
Cotton MN’s -56° air temperature on January 28th, 2019, was the lowest ambient air temperature in Minnesota since the -60° reading near Tower, MN on February 2nd, 1996.
The -28° air temperature in the Twin Cities on January 30th, 2019, was the lowest ambient air temperature in the Twin Cities since -32° on February 2nd, 1996.
The -13° maximum temperature in the Twin Cities on January 30th, 2019, was the coldest maximum temperature since -17° on February 2nd, 1996.
Neither the minimum nor maximum temperature in the Twin Cities on January 30th set a record for the date. However, the -56° in Cotton on January 27th did set the daily statewide record minimum temperature for the date. The old record was -54° in Pokegama Dam back in 1904. Cotton recorded another -56° daily low temperature on January 31st, breaking the daily statewide record minimum temperature for the date as well. The old record was -55° in Embarrass back in 1996.
Some record cold maximum temperature records were set across the state as the temps stayed in the teens below zero on January 30th. Some of these records include -14 ° in Duluth, 19° in Rochester as well as International Falls, and 17° in St. Cloud.
Wind Chill Temperature Recap
The dangerously low wind chill temperatures were perhaps the more noteworthy element of this cold air outbreak across the Midwest. The Twin Cities metro saw twelve hours straight of -50° or colder wind chill temperatures from 7 PM on January 29th to 6 AM on January 30th, with a reading of -55° at 11 PM on January 29th. This was the coldest wind chill reading in the Twin Cities since January 19th, 1985.
Many locations in northern Minnesota saw wind chill readings of -60° or colder, including -65° in Hibbing at 8 AM on January 30th.
The map below shows the wind chill values across the midwest at 5 AM on January 30th, 2019.
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