The January 2005 cold snap across the Northland began Thursday, January 13th, and lasted through Tuesday, January 18th. Residents of Duluth, MN and nearby communities endured 119 consecutive hours of sub-zero temperatures. However, this is a far cry from the record of 186 hours set 1996 from January 12th through January 20th.
High temperatures for the Northland occurred at midnight on Thursday, January 13th, with readings of 21 F at Duluth, MN; 11 F at International Falls, MN; and 25 F at Hayward, WI. The temperatures then quickly fell through the morning, with noon readings of on the 13th of -11 F at International Falls and -6 F at Duluth, while Hayward, WI was slightly warmer at 6 F above zero.
The arctic air held on through Friday, January 14th, resulting in school closings across the Northland due to dangerous wind chills. At 7 am Friday morning, the wind chill values ranged from -45 F at Grand Marais, MN, -44 F at International Falls, MN, and -15 F at Hayward, WI. Through the morning, the wind chills generally ranged from -20 F to -30 F, with an occasional -40 F reading in northeastern Minnesota and far northern Wisconsin.
Northlanders dealt with the bitter temperatures and stalled cars through the weekend. Daytime highs were in the single digits to teens below zero, and overnight lows dipped well into the 20s and 30s below zero. By Monday, January 17th, the arctic high pressure, that was the culprit of the bitter temperatures, finally settled over the Northland. The morning lows just barely missed the record books in many locations. International Falls, MN had a low of -44 F, just shy of the -45 F record set in 1982. Tower, MN, home to the coldest temperature ever recorded in Minnesota of -60 set on Feb 2nd, 1996, also came within a few degrees of their record, with a morning low of -54 F.
The Northland finally broke the zero mark on Tuesday, January 18th, where the temperatures rebounded drastically due to strong southerly winds. Highs by Tuesday evening were well above zero, ranging from the mid teens to lower 30s. By 8 pm, International Falls, MN had warmed an impressive 61 F in the previous 24 hours, while at 7 pm Brainerd, MN had a 24 hour temperature increase of 44 F. |
