North Dakota

Records set over the weekend; recapping the coldest part of our Arctic blast

Published

6 months ago

January 15, 2024

Press Room

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Temperatures and wind chills were not only dangerously cold over the weekend, but they also broke some records across central and western North Dakota.

Dickinson experienced some of the coldest temperatures, and, therefore, saw the most records broken! First, at 4:40 a.m. Saturday, a -33° temperature and 29 mph wind combined to produce a brutally cold -70° wind chill. That’s now the record for the coldest wind chill in Dickinson since the wind chill formula was updated to be more accurate in 2001. Bismarck, Minot and Williston also saw their coldest wind chills on record since 2001, in the 60s below zero on Saturday morning.

New wind chill records across central and western ND(KFYR)

Here’s a look at some of the other coldest wind chills from across central and western North Dakota over the weekend:

Coldest observed wind chills over the weekend(KFYR)

And you could compare Saturday’s minimum wind chill of -70° in Dickinson to Saturday’s maximum heat index in Miami, Florida, of 92°, to get an incredible 162° difference in the apparent, or “feels like,” temperature across the country!

Difference in apparent temperature from ND to Florida on Saturday, January 13(KFYR)

The -33° temperature Saturday morning in Dickinson that helped contribute to the record-setting wind chill is the coldest temperature recorded in Dickinson on any day since 1990 — 34 years ago! Very cold temperatures in the 20s below zero were seen elsewhere for lows, but these have been observed in Bismarck, Williston and Minot within the past few years.

Low temperatures from Saturday and Sunday(KFYR)

We’re not done with the Dickinson records. The Queen City only saw a high on Saturday of -21°, which is a new record coldest high temperature for January 13. Minot’s high on Saturday was at -19°, which is also a new daily record coldest high temperature in the Magic City.

Record coldest highs set on Saturday(KFYR)

If you’re curious how these numbers compare, click here for more information on the coldest temperatures and wind chills ever recorded in North Dakota.

For those wondering how the wind chills observed this weekend would compare to wind chills calculated using the old formula (anything before 2001), here are a couple of handy charts.