© 2026 ABC News

Located about an hour south of the U.S.-Canada border, the base was a chilly 14 degrees below zero on Wednesday with minus-28-degree wind chills. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the base showed how it's functioning normally while the brutally cold weather caused commercial flight delays, school cancellations and several deaths.

“Airmen reported to work at normal times and the base is fully operational,” Staff Sgt. B. Eli Smith told ABC News.

\"PHOTO:
Airman First Class Heather Ley/U.S. Air Force
PHOTO: A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber sits on the runway at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota during a cold snap in January 2019.
>

\"To operate in conditions like this, we have to be prepared with plans and equipment that allow the mission to continue as usual. Engine heaters for the aircraft for example, or detailed route plans to minimize time outdoors when moving around base, just to name a few,\" he added.

The Air Force issues guidance for how airmen should properly incorporate jackets, fleeces and parkas as part of the uniform, but Smith stressed that safety of personnel is a top priority.

You can be our Wingmen anytime! #PolarVortex pic.twitter.com/UX3TM2KoN6

— Minot Air Force Base (@TeamMinot) January 30, 2019
\"PHOTO:
Senior Airman Alyssa Akers/U.S. Air Force
PHOTO: Airmen use engine heaters at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, which experienced minus 14 degree Fahrenheit temperatures on Jan. 30, 2019 with even colder wind chills.
>

Average winter overnight lows regularly hover around zero degrees Fahrenheit at Minot, one of two continental U.S. Air Force bases that hosts B-52 Stratofortress bombers.

On Tuesday, the base tweeted about the impending \"Polar Vortex,\" writing, \"We call that Tuesday.\"

#PolarVortex2019? We call that Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/87lL0hMR5k

— Minot Air Force Base (@TeamMinot) January 29, 2019

And they're not the only base that faces frigid winter temperatures.

Airmen at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, are also accustomed to operating regularly in negative temperatures. The average high in January is only 2 degrees below zero, but on Wednesday the temperature at Eielson was a balmy 12 degrees.

ABC News' Luis Martinez contributed to this report from the Pentagon.

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