The coldest week in North Dakota, station by station
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at North Dakota reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
FargoFargo Hector International Airport, USW00014914
Jan 19 to 25
−1°F
−33°FJan 30, 2019
Oct 10
−39°FFeb 1, 1996records since 1891
BismarckBismarck, USW00024011
Jan 15 to 21
2°F
−39°FFeb 18, 2025
Oct 6
−44°FTwice, last on Jan 15, 2009records since 1948
MinotMinot International Airport, USW00024013
Jan 17 to 23
4°F
−33°FFeb 18, 2025
Oct 7
−36°FDec 23, 1983records since 1948
Grand ForksGrand Forks International Airport, USW00014916
Jan 19 to 25
−4°F
−37°FJan 1, 2022
Oct 7
−43°FJan 30, 2004records since 1941
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Fargo against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 North Dakota reference stations.
At Fargo it is usually Jan 19 to 25, with a normal low of −1°F. At the other reference stations: Bismarck Jan 15 to 21 (2°F), Minot Jan 17 to 23 (4°F) and Grand Forks Jan 19 to 25 (−4°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Fargo reaches 32°F around Oct 24 and 20°F around Nov 18. The first actual freeze came around Oct 10 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Fargo was −33°F on Jan 30, 2019, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −24°F. Elsewhere: Bismarck −39°F on Feb 18, 2025, Minot −33°F on Feb 18, 2025 and Grand Forks −37°F on Jan 1, 2022. The record at the Fargo station is −39°F, on Feb 1, 1996, in daily records since 1891.
At Fargo a typical recent winter brings 181 nights at 32°F or colder, 109 at 20°F or colder and 40 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Fargo Hector International Airport (USW00014914), Bismarck (USW00024011), Minot International Airport (USW00024013) and Grand Forks International Airport (USW00014916). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
