PlainHazard

Minnesota extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 87 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 4,238 extreme cold records in Minnesota from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 162 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 15, 2009 cold/wind chill in Anoka County and Ramsey County: 2 deaths. Minnesota ranks 1st of 51 states and territories by count and 8th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Minnesota, 1996 to 2026

Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
4,2381996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
162average
Deaths
3519 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.5Mas filed
Busiest year
2014451 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are extreme cold records common in Minnesota?

Minnesota averages about 162 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 1st of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2014 (451). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Minnesota records 532 extreme cold records since 1996, 8th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Minnesota have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Red Lake County leads Minnesota: 76 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 175.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, St. Louis County has the most cold records (235 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Red Lake County 175.8 (77)
  2. Ramsey County 137.9 (21)
  3. Mahnomen County 125.5 (72)
  4. Pennington County 123.3 (78)
  5. Wadena County 102.5 (58)
  6. Grant County 100.4 (56)
  7. Big Stone County 92.2 (46)
  8. Norman County 81.3 (73)
  9. Wilkin County 79.9 (62)
  10. Dodge County 79.7 (35)
  11. Pipestone County 79.6 (38)
  12. Traverse County 78.4 (45)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the cold season in Minnesota?

73% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (1,971 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 1,971 · Feb 1,139 · Mar 154 · Apr 27 · May 169 · Jun 24 · Jul 0 · Aug 37 · Sep 0 · Oct 20 · Nov 24 · Dec 673 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Minnesota?

Minnesota: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2009-01-15 Cold/Wind ChillAnoka County and Ramsey County · forecast zone Ramsey Low temperatures and brisk winds caused wind chill values to fall below -35 for hours. 2 0 –
2022-12-23 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Arctic air began moving across the Upper Midwest on Dec 21-22 following the snow. Winds increased from west to east across the forecast area, creating dangerously cold wind chills of -30 to -48°F. The coldest wind chill temperatures favored Western Minnesota given the physical geography of the land and lack of ... 2 0 –
2005-01-05 Cold/Wind ChillBlue Earth County · forecast zone Blue Earth An elderly couple became stranded in their van after it became stuck in a snow drift on rural 176th Lane in Lincoln Township in Blue Earth County. When rescue workers found the missing vehicle they discovered that the husband and wife had died of exposure. The wife was found in the van and the husband was found 75 ... 2 0 –
2018-01-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillRamsey County · forecast zone Ramsey An individual was found in St. Paul and apparently died from exposure to the cold weather. 1 1 –
2016-12-12 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillRamsey County · forecast zone Ramsey An individual froze to death in St. Paul, Minnesota, outside the apartment building where they lived. Temperatures in the Twin Cities dropped to 3 below zero Monday morning, with a wind chill of minus 19. 1 1 –
2016-12-18 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWashington County · forecast zone Washington An individual froze outside while taking photographs of the surrounding landscape. 1 1 –
2015-01-03 Cold/Wind ChillSt. Louis County · forecast zone Central St. Louis A woman was found dead on a walking/bike trail about a quarter mile from where she was last seen walking three days earlier. Temperatures around the time of her disappearance were in the teens below zero. The official cause of death was hypothermia secondary to alcohol intoxication according to the county deputy ... 1 0 –
2014-12-02 Cold/Wind ChillOlmsted County · forecast zone Olmsted An elderly lady passed away after spending the night of December 2nd outdoors with temperatures in the teens and 20s. The lady had medical conditions that likely contributed to her death along with the exposure to the cold temperatures. 1 0 –
2014-01-14 Cold/Wind ChillSt. Louis County · forecast zone Central St. Louis A 54 year old Embarrass, MN woman was found froze to death at the end of her driveway. She had apparently went out to look for her dog and slipped. Law enforcement officials reported that she appeared impaired and was not dressed for the subzero temperatures. The temperature at 1 am, about the time her body was ... 1 0 –
2014-02-05 Cold/Wind ChillSt. Louis County · forecast zone Central St. Louis A man was found dead in a snowbank near a driveway. It is believed he fell into the snowbank and died of the cold. Hypothermia was listed as cause of death. The low temperature that morning in Hibbing was -16 degrees F. 1 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in Minnesota

Minnesota: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2019-01-29 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillOlmsted County · forecast zone Olmsted 1 0 $46K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Minnesota?

Minnesota's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Extreme cold: Minnesota and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMinnesotaUnited StatesMinnesota's share
1996-993335,5396.0%
2000s77414,7925.2%
2010s1,80118,1629.9%
2020-261,33015,3298.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Minnesota

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeOtter Tail County · forecast zone East Otter Tail 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeOtter Tail County · forecast zone West Otter Tail 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeWilkin County · forecast zone Wilkin 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeBecker County · forecast zone East Becker 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeBecker County · forecast zone West Becker 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeClay County · forecast zone Clay 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeMahnomen County · forecast zone Mahnomen 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeNorman County · forecast zone Norman 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeWadena County · forecast zone Wadena 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeHubbard County · forecast zone Hubbard 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeClearwater County · forecast zone South Clearwater 0 0 –
2026-05-20 Frost/FreezeClearwater County · forecast zone North Clearwater 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Minnesota

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Minnesota for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on January 5, 1996.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1996-01-05DR-1078High Winds, Freezing Rain, Heavy Snowfall4

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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