Following the snowfall on December 29, and an additional dusting to inch of snowfall late on the evening of December 30 and early on December 31, a brutally cold arctic high settled across the area through New Year's Day. Blustery northwest winds from 15 to 25 mph with gusts over 30 mph continued through midday on December 30th across northwest Iowa. Winds diminished to 5 to 15 mph by later on the 30th through New Year's Eve, but was met by temperatures diving into the teens and 20's below zero. Many locations were below zero for 60 hours or longer. The extreme cold and wind chill continued into January 1st.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in BUENA VISTA, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 07:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts over 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -35 to -50 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -40 occurred around 2115CST on December 31 near Storm Lake. A record low maximum temperature of -9F occurred on the 31st four miles east of Sioux Rapids.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in CHEROKEE, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 07:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts over 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -25 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -35 occurred around 0735CST on December 31 near Cherokee.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in IDA, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 07:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts over 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -25 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A record low minimum temperature of -23 occurred on December 31 at Holstein.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in O'BRIEN, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 06:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -25 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -43 occurred around 2355CST on December 31 at Sheldon.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in CLAY, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 06:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -35 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -43 occurred around 2355CST on December 31 at Spencer. The high of -9 at Spencer on December 31st was also a record low maximum for the date.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in DICKINSON, IOWA
From 30-DEC-17 06:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -35 to -50 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. The minimum temperatures for the COOP station 4 miles northwest of Milford of -22 and -25 on December 30th and 31st, respectively, were record low minimums for each date.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in OSCEOLA, IOWA
From 30-DEC-17 06:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -35 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. Sibley plunged to a low of -20 on December 31st.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in LYON, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 06:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -25 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero.  The minimum temperature reached -19 at Rock Rapids on December 31st.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in SIOUX, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 08:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 10 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -25 to -45 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -42 occurred around 2110CST on December 31 at Orange City.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in PLYMOUTH, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 08:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 5 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -25 to -40 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -37 occurred around 2235CST on December 31 at Le Mars.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in WOODBURY, IOWA
From 31-DEC-17 08:00:00 to 31-DEC-17 23:59:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Even though winds were 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 30 mph early on December 30 and then decreased to 5 to 15 mph, bitterly cold wind chills of -20 to -40 prevailed over much the two day period as temperatures plummeted to the teens and 20's below zero. A coldest wind chill of -39 occurred at 2352CST on December 31 at Sioux City.  A record low minimum temperature of -24 was established at Sioux Gateway Airport on December 31.