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Remembering Indy’s coldest day on record

Indy’s coldest day on record was Jan. 19, 1994 when the city hit -27°.

INDYtoday: INDY_coldest day Jan. 19 1994 Indianapolis Star_JAN25

Talk about the dead of winter.

Newsclipping courtesy of Indianapolis Star

There’s no getting around it: It’s cold, Indy.

With another arctic blast upon us, we’re staying inside and looking back at some of the headlines on the coldest day the Circle City has ever had.

The day the cold set records

Indy’s coldest day on record took place on Jan. 19, 1994 when temperatures hit a record-breaking -27°. Imagine that with wind chill... brrrr.

That sure puts this weather in perspective, huh? The closest we’ve come to that temperature this year so far was when temps got to 5° on Jan. 9.

What the headlines said

So, what else was going on in Indy on the coldest day on record? It was a harsh week for natural disasters across the country. Our newspapers continued to report on Los Angeles’ Northridge earthquake, which happened on Jan. 17, 1994 and killed 57 people.

The papers also covered the intense weather we were having at the time — reminding Hoosiers that while we had it bad, it could always be worse, with northern Michigan reporting wind chills of -70°.

How to weather the weather today

Ok, so we’re not breaking records (yet), but that doesn’t mean braving this weather is easy. Thankfully, we have plenty of world-class museums you can explore for a fun day indoors, or some incredibly tasty soups you can order for delivery if leaving the house isn’t the vibe.

Don’t forget to check in on our city’s inclement weather resources and take a peek at what the rest of the season has in store for us. Who knows, maybe this will be a record-breaking year after all.

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