Dangerous Cold

With the first severe weather outbreak of the new year gone, we will for now begin focusing on the winter weather for now. There are no significant winter storms on the way, however, we are dealing with extreme cold. Wind Chill Warnings are in effect for parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota for wind chills below -40 degrees. The warning includes St. Cloud, Minnesota, Watertown, South Dakota, and Minot, North Dakota. For areas around the warning, a Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for wind chills closer to -30 degrees. The advisory includes Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck, and Williston, North Dakota, Aberdeen, Brookings, Sioux Falls, and Mitchell, South Dakota, and Marshall, Brainerd, Bemidji, Moorhead, International Falls, Duluth, Hibbing, Rochester, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of Minnesota.

Other wind chill advisories are in effect for places like Iowa City, Sioux City, and Des Moines, Iowa, Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Rockford and Peoria, Illinois.

Just stay inside whenever possible if you fall under a Wind Chill Advisory or Warning, and if you do have to be outside, dress warmly and go inside for frequent breaks to get out of the cold. Frostbite and hypothermia are possible within minutes with these dangerous wind chills which could approach -50 in central North Dakota.