The coldest of cold temperatures require extraordinary weather conditions. Most record lows in the winter are set when extremely cold air moves over our region in conjunction with a clear night when the snow cover is relatively deep. Usually the wind is light and is blowing from some direction other than due south.
Because the “official” temperature of record is taken at Hector International Airport in north Fargo, a south wind brings to the thermometer air which has blown through the city, which heats it up by several degrees. Perfect conditions are somewhat rare and this is reflected in the lack of uniformity among the daily records.
Of the 31 record lows in December, only 13 of them are in the minus 30s, the coldest being 36 degrees below zero on Dec. 29, 1887. The all-time record low for Fargo-Moorhead is minus 48 set Jan. 8, 1887. There are only eight calendar days with record lows in the minus 40s, seven in January and one in February. All were set in the 1880s.
