textproduct: Sioux Falls

KEY MESSAGES

- Life-threatening cold temperatures move in tonight and continue into tomorrow morning. The coldest wind chills will average -25 to -40 during this time, with one or two spots dropping as low as -45 over southwest Minnesota.

- Wind chill values Friday night into Sunday morning will average about -15 to -25.

- Light snow moves in late tomorrow into tomorrow night, mainly along the Missouri River Valley. Snowfall amounts will be light, less than 1 inch. Winds are expected to be light with this system.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 236 PM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

A few very narrow snow bands have developed over the area today, primarily over southwest Minnesota. These have been few and far between but will bring brief, but sharp visibility reductions when encountering one. Any snow bands should diminish as the sun goes down. Otherwise it's been another breezy day across the area, and with falling temperatures, wind chills have already started dropping into the -10s and even down to around -20. Dangerously cold wind chills will continue to filter into the area through this evening into tonight as a ~1050 mb Arctic high pressure system settles into the northern Plains. Before the surface high actually moves over our area, winds will remain elevated due to a push of cold air advection through the night. Winds will gust up to about 20-25 mph through midnight, and then up to 15-20 mph by daybreak. This will combine with air temperatures in the 10s and 20s below zero will lead to wind chills as low as 30 to 45 degrees below zero. For this reason, a Extreme Cold Warning will be in effect for areas mainly along and east of the James River and a Cold Weather Advisory for south-central South Dakota through mid-morning tomorrow. Temperatures will be slightly milder in the Cold Weather Advisory areas due in part to extra cloud cover associated with a developing wave in the Rockies in these areas. If these clouds trend a bit farther north than expected, slightly milder low temperatures may occur farther north as well, but either way, it will still be very cold tonight and tomorrow morning so make sure to take precautions to protect yourself and others from the cold! Winds will continue to diminish through the day on Friday as the high settles on top of the area, but air temperatures will stay below zero into tomorrow afternoon.

While this cold weather is going on, the aforementioned upper-wave over the Rockies will begin to move eastward. The far northern edge of this system will bring some light snow chances mainly near and along the Missouri River Valley mainly late tomorrow into tomorrow night. Soundings show a thermal profile largely colder than the DGZ, so efficient snowfall may be hard to come by, especially the farther north you go across the area. Snowfall amounts will be less than an inch, and with light winds expected, blowing snow concerns are not anticipated. Lows Saturday and Sunday morning will be in the negative single digits to negative 10s with wind chills as low as -15 to -25 degrees. Highs on Saturday and Sunday afternoon will rise above zero, but mostly stay in the single digits. So bottom line is that the whole weekend will be quite chilly, so continue to bundle up out there! Heading into the next work week, no signs of any major systems at this time, though can't rule out a few weak waves moving through by mid-week. Temperatures moderate a bit through next week, though still stay below normal. Guidance indicates the potential for another shot of Arctic air by the end of next week, though uncertainty is high on just how cold we get and if there will be any elevated winds with it.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 955 PM CST Thu Jan 22 2026

Mainly VFR conditions will continue this TAF period. Taking a look at satellite imagery, still have a few cloud streaks pushing across the area. While a few "insta-flurries" can't be ruled out, accumulations will be minimal. Otherwise, decided to strip any mentionable snow out of the TAFs this round due to lingering dry air in the lower levels towards the end of the TAF period. Lastly, northerly winds will continue to decrease into Friday.

FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

SD...Extreme Cold Warning until 9 AM CST Friday for SDZ038-053- 059>062-065>071. Extreme Cold Watch Friday afternoon for SDZ038>040-052>056- 058>062-065>067-069>071. Extreme Cold Warning until 11 AM CST Friday for SDZ039-040- 054>056. Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM CST Friday for SDZ050-052-057- 058-063-064. MN...Extreme Cold Warning until 9 AM CST Friday for MNZ098. Extreme Cold Watch Friday afternoon for MNZ071-072-080-081-089- 090-097-098. Extreme Cold Warning until 11 AM CST Friday for MNZ071-072-080- 081-089-090-097. IA...Extreme Cold Warning until 9 AM CST Friday for IAZ001>003- 012>014-020>022-031-032. Extreme Cold Watch Friday afternoon for IAZ001>003-012>014- 020>022-031-032. NE...Extreme Cold Warning until 9 AM CST Friday for NEZ013-014. Extreme Cold Watch Friday afternoon for NEZ013-014.