A penalty and a wind-assisted fluke earned David Hodgson's relegation-threatened Darlington a shock first away success of the season and ended Huddersfield's six-game winning streak.
The visitors were hardly in the game until Neil Wainwright was upended in the box by Town's Efe Sodje on 20 minutes but it turned the game in Darlington's favour.
Ian Clark coolly struck in the resulting penalty and shell-shocked Huddersfield were lucky to go in only 1-0 down at the break.
Mark Convery somehow managed to miss an open goal from barely two yards out in the 36th minute by stubbing the ball wide from Wainwright's left-wing cross when it seemed easier to score.
It was the best of several clear-cut chances for second-bottom Darlington - who are in administration following the exit of multi-millionaire former chairman George Reynolds - but the win was sealed after the break by a wind-assisted fluke from a veteran midfielder Neil Maddison.
The former Southampton and Middlesborough player curled over an attempted right-wing cross on 54 minutes and it was carried into the net by swirling winds which battered the McAlpine Stadium all afternoon.
That shock prompted Town boss Peter Jackson to make a double substitution by bringing on Tony Carss and David Mirfin for Jon Newby and Lee Fowler but the changes did not alter the game's established pattern.
Darlington should have added to their tally on 82 minutes when Barry Conlon surged from midfield to thump in a 25-yard effort which Town keeper Phil Senior did well to save at the foot of his right-hand post.
Senior also did well to turn away Neil Teggart's 18-yard shot three minutes from.
time.
Teggart, 19, made his Football League debut on loan from Sunderland and turned in and impressive display.
The striker hassled Town's defenders all afternoon and showed impressive skill in linking up with his midfielders to set up raids for Wainwright and Convery.
Huddersfield's best effort after the break was a Carss free kick that flew over the bar after Danny Schofield had been brought down on the edge of the area.