2023-10-30 15:19:00
Snow-covered mountains in New Mexico. Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock Some states’ coldest temperatures were recorded decades ago, while others are more recent. Hawaii is the only state that hasn’t reported a temperature below zero degrees Fahrenheit. In Alaska, the coldest temperature on record was -80 degrees in Prospect Creek Camp in 1971.
Over the last century, we’ve seen record-breaking temperature drops across the US. But as the world continues to get hotter, only three states have recorded their lowest-ever temperatures in the 21st century.
In Alaska, the coldest temperature recorded was -80 degrees Fahrenheit in Prospect Creek Camp in 1971. And all but one of the 50 states have reported a temperature below zero — only Hawaii, which recorded its lowest temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit at the Mauna Kea Observatory on May 17, 1979, has never been sub-zero.
According to data compiled by NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committeehere are the coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state.
Alabama’s lowest recorded temperature was -27 degrees Fahrenheit at New Market on January 30, 1966.
Snowy winter road in Alabama. Melissa Bobo/Shutterstock
On this snowy January day, it was Lucille Hereford, the postmistress and town volunteer weather observer, who recorded the -27-degree temperature, calling it a “terribly cold” morning in a 1988 interview with an Alabama State climatologist.
Per a 2021 news report by WHNTthe official story comes with a caveat: The temperature was initially erroneously recorded as warmer than the -24 degrees Fahrenheit reported at Russellville the same day. It wasn’t until years later that a Birmingham reporter uncovered the truth, and the National Climatic Data Center finally issued a correction in its records.
Alaska’s lowest recorded temperature was -80 degrees Fahrenheit at Prospect Creek Camp on January 23, 1971.
A dramatic sunset illuminates the clear waters of Phelan Creek in early spring in the Alaska Range. Troutnut/Shutterstock
The Anchorage Daily News reported in 2013 that there have been some unofficial measurements of even lower temperatures. On the National Weather Service Alaska website, Phil Schaefer claimed it was -84 degrees Fahrenheit in Coldfoot in 1989, and Joe Cochran said the temperature in Hughes dropped to -85 degrees Fahrenheit in the ’90s, the Daily News reported.
Arizona’s lowest recorded temperature was -40 degrees Fahrenheit at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.
Arizona after a heavy snow storm. Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock
Hawley Lake isn’t any more of a town now than it was in 1971, but it was one of the remote weather stations Stan Bryte oversaw from Phoenix for the National Weather Service, AZCentral reported in 2015. At the time, Hawley Lake had already set a state record for 91 inches of snow in 1968.
But on the morning of January 7, 1971, Bryte’s chief meteorologist told him, “You need to get up to Hawley Lake. I have a suspicion this is going to be a real record.”
Arkansas’ lowest recorded temperature was -29 degrees Fahrenheit in Brook Farm Pond near Gravette on February 13, 1905.
Early morning sunrise in Arkansas. Michael t. Morrison/Shutterstock
Brook Farm Pond is near the town of Gravette, which has just over 3,500 residents, according to census data.
It is located in Benton County, which has the motto “The Heart of Hometown America,” according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. At one time, it also bore the name of “Gate Community” for serving as a gateway to northwest Arkansas from Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
California’s lowest recorded temperature was -45 degrees Fahrenheit in Boca on January 20, 1937.
View of Truckee river and Boca Hill in snow near interstate 80 at the California-Nevada state line. AJ9/Shutterstock
The Los Angeles Times reported in 1937 that the low temperatures had brought “influenza, frozen toes, broken water pipes and automobile radiators, icy streets and traffic disruption.”
Colorado’s lowest recorded temperature was -61 degrees Fahrenheit in Maybell on February 1, 1985.
Winter landscape of Colorado San Juan mountains and alpine forest covered with freshly fallen snow. Teri Virbickis/Shutterstock
CBS News reported in January 2023 that Maybell, located 25 miles west of Craig, is home to just 76 people.
Georgia McIntyre has been a town resident for 64 years. She told 9News in 2015, “You don’t think about how cold it is. You just put all the clothes you’ve got on, and we even put newspapers in our shoes because we didn’t have all these fancy things you have now.”
Connecticut’s lowest recorded temperature was -32 degrees Fahrenheit in Coventry on January 22, 1961. Previously, it was in Falls Village on February 16, 1943.
Winter in Connecticut. Michael Macsuga/Shutterstock
In 1943, a National Weather Service observer noted February was a “relatively mild month,” only for Connecticut to record its coldest temperature in the state’s history, CT Insider reported in 2023. A freezing day in January just 18 years later would report that same low temperature.
Delaware’s lowest recorded temperature was -17 degrees Fahrenheit in Millsboro on January 17, 1893.
Beautiful view near the river after a snowstorm in Delaware. Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock
Thirty-seven years later, a Millsboro weather station recorded a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit on a scorching July day, according to the National Weather Service.
Florida’s lowest recorded temperature was -2 degrees Fahrenheit in Tallahassee on February 13, 1899.
Sunrise in Florida in the Winter. Jesse Kunerth/Shutterstock
In Tallahassee, Florida, 124 years ago, an inch of snow coated the city (its third biggest snowfall ever), and a record low of -2 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded, WTXL Tallahassee reported in 2020.
Headlines at the time read “All Previous Records Broken,” and editors were calling the storm, “The Snow King,” “The Ice King,” and “the Great Blizzard of 1899,” Tallahassee Democrat reported in 2018.
Georgia’s lowest recorded temperature was -17 degrees Fahrenheit in CCC Fire Camp F-16 near Beatum on January 27, 1940.
The snow-covered mountains in Georgia. PaulDaniel5010/Shutterstock
Not even 12 years later, on July 24, 1952, Georgia would see its highest temperature recorded at 112 degrees Fahrenheit in Louisville, and again on August 20, 1983, in Greenville, Georgia, according to NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committee.
Hawaii’s lowest recorded temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit at the Mauna Kea Observatory on May 17, 1979.
Sunset at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Alexey Kamenskiy/Shutterstock
Forecasters think this record may have changed because, on February 11, 2019, several sensors at the Mauna Kea Observatory reported temperatures between 8 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit, Khon2 reported in 2022, but that has yet to be officially validated.
Idaho’s lowest recorded temperature was -60 degrees Fahrenheit in Island Park Dam on January 18, 1943.
Winter Shoreline in Idaho. Grimm Film/Shutterstock
Island Park Dam, which is located in the Targhee National Forest, is in the northeast corner of the state. It holds the title for the eighth coldest temperature ever recorded in the US.
Illinois’ lowest recorded temperature was -38 degrees Fahrenheit in Mount Carroll on January 31, 2019.
Old Train Bridge over a Canal in Winter (Illinois). Randy R/Shutterstock
Frigid temperatures across Illinois in late January 2019 led to a startling discovery: On the morning of January 31, the weather observer at Mount Carroll in Carroll County recorded a temperature drop to -38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Only after an extensive review did the State Climate Extremes Committee collectively validate the reading as the new state record low temperature, the State Journal-Register reported in 2019.
Indiana’s lowest recorded temperature was -36 degrees Fahrenheit in New Whiteland on January 19, 1994.
Winter in Indiana. Waldos photo/Shutterstock
ABC57 reported in 2020 that all temperatures across Indiana dropped below zero on the morning of January 19, 1994.
In a newscast from 1994 for WRTV Indianapolisa mail carrier told former Channel 6 meteorologist David James, “Well, I’ll tell you, it’s better today than it was yesterday, ‘cuz there’s not that wind. So, I don’t mind this at all.”
Iowa’s lowest recorded temperature was -47 degrees Fahrenheit in Elkader on February 3, 1996. Previously, it was in Washta on January 12, 1912.
Iowa winter garden on full display. Lisa J Loewen/Shutterstock
Iowa was one of many states in the Midwest that experienced the “1996 Cold Wave,” as KCRG-TV9 described it in 2016.
Kansas’ lowest recorded temperature was -40 degrees Fahrenheit in Lebanon on February 13, 1905.
Pedestrians walk down snow-swept streets in Kansas. Julie Denesha /Getty Images
The winter of 1905 was reportedly so bitterly cold that “it was impossible for one to face the storm,” according to “Reno County Kansas, Its People, Industries, and Institutions,” by B.F. Bowen & Co. Inc. of Indianapolis, published in 1917 and reported in 2014 by The Kansas City Star.
Kentucky’s lowest recorded temperature was -37 degrees Fahrenheit in Shelbyville on January 19, 1994.
Beautiful winter morning on a small lake in Kentucky. Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock
According to meteorologist John Belski, January 19, 1994, “was certainly a day for the history books.”
“Those who were not around in 1994, it was the only time I can remember when grocery stores in parts of Louisville ran out of food and gas stations ran out of gas that week since no deliveries were able to be made for several days. It was so strange to see people walking in the middle of Bardstown Road and also Broadway,” he recalled for WLKY News in 2020.
Louisiana’s lowest recorded temperature was -16 degrees Fahrenheit in Minden on February 13, 1899.
Minden, Louisiana. Woody Wiyninger / 500px/Getty Images
Over two weeks in February 1899, freezing weather swept over the US, where record low minimum temperatures were recorded in 12 states for what was described as “the greatest arctic outbreak in history,” according to weather historian David Ludlum in “The Great Arctic Outbreak and East Coast Blizzard of February 1899.”
Maine’s lowest recorded temperature was -50 degrees Fahrenheit in Big Black River on January 16, 2009.
Winter mountaintop landscape in Maine. Andrew Siegel/Shutterstock
After a month of scrutinizing weather data, scientists declared in February 2009 that Maine had reached a record low: 50 below freezing.
After much evaluation by the State Climate Extreme Committee, “It turned out [the -50 reading] was spot on,” Bob Lent, Maine director of the US Geological Survey, said, as reported by NBC News in 2009.
Maryland’s lowest recorded temperature was -40 degrees Fahrenheit in Oakland on January 13, 1912.
Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls State Park in Oakland, Maryland. Richard Bizick/Shutterstock
Oakland, Maryland, is home to 2,187 people. According to Britannicait was established in 1849 and became a well-known tourist spot when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad built a rail line that traveled through the town.
Massachusetts’s lowest recorded temperature was -35 degrees Fahrenheit in Chester on January 12, 1981.
Winter-time hiking to the Sanderson Brook Falls in Chester, Massachusetts. scott conner/Shutterstock
Previously, the same temperature was recorded in Coldbrook on February 15, 1943, and in Taunton on January 5, 1904.
Michigan’s lowest recorded temperature was -51 degrees Fahrenheit in Vanderbilt on February 9, 1934.
Sunrise over a frozen lake in Michigan. John McCormick/Shutterstock
There are only 11 states with colder recorded temperatures than Michigan: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Minnesota’s lowest recorded temperature was -60 degrees Fahrenheit in Tower on February 2, 1996.
Minnesota. JordanSchopper/Shutterstock
The average low in this sparsely populated former mining town is usually around 4 degrees Fahrenheit in February, according to WorldClimate.com.
Mississippi’s lowest recorded temperature was -19 degrees Fahrenheit in Corinth on January 30, 1966.
Trees on a snow-covered field during winter in Mississippi. Barbara Windham / 500px/Getty Images
By contrast, Mississippi’s highest recorded temperature was recorded 36 years prior on July 29, 1930, when the mercury in Holly Springs hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
Missouri’s lowest recorded temperature was -40 degrees Fahrenheit in Warsaw on February 13, 1905.
Missouri. Tara Ballard/Shutterstock
Interestingly enough, the coldest and hottest temperatures recorded in Missouri have both been in Warsaw, according to the University of Missouri Climate Center. The hottest temperature was a whopping 118 degrees Fahrenheit on July 14, 1954.
Montana’s lowest recorded temperature was -70 degrees Fahrenheit in Rogers Pass on January 20, 1954.
Mountain at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park in Montana. Urban Images/Shutterstock
“It’s a day that will probably live in American history forever,” Corby Dickerson, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said of the record, NBC Montana reported in February 2023. “It was the coldest day ever observed in the lower 48 states.”
Nebraska’s lowest recorded temperature was -47 degrees Fahrenheit in Oshkosh on December 22, 1989. Previously, it was in Bridgeport on February 12, 1899.
Sunrise over the Platte River after a snowstorm in Nebraska. Diana Robinson Photography/Getty Images
The biggest snowstorm on the southeast US coast was known as the “Christmas Snowstorm of 1989,” according to The National Weather Service. It broke snowfall records in several states, and unheard-of temperatures followed.
Nevada’s lowest recorded temperature was -50 degrees Fahrenheit in San Jacinto on January 8, 1937.
Nevada winter landscape with cloud inversion. Neil Lockhart/Shutterstock
Fifty-seven years after the state’s cold temperature, a weather station in Laughlin recorded a temperature of 125 degrees Fahrenheit in June, per data from NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committee.
New Hampshire’s lowest recorded temperature was -50 degrees Fahrenheit in Mount Washington on January 22, 1885.
View from Boott Spur Trail towards Huntington Ravine and Raymond Cataract on Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Ed Dods/Shutterstock
That may have been the case then, but more recently, it logged the US’ coldest wind chill on record: -108. The Weather Service office serving Mount Washington tweeted in February 2023 that its recording software refused to log the reported low number.
New Jersey’s lowest recorded temperature was -34 degrees Fahrenheit in River Vale on January 5, 1904.
A road just plowed after a large snowfall in rural Central New Jersey. Andrew F. Kazmierski/Shutterstock
“That was a very cold morning in northeastern New Jersey,” David Robinson, a New Jersey State Climatologist, told NJ.com in 2019.
“A deep fresh snow cover, the valley location, adjacent to a pond that was used to make ice, and a generally treeless landscape near the station all helped contribute to the excessive cold.”
New Mexico’s lowest recorded temperature was -50 degrees Fahrenheit in Gavilan on February 1, 1951.
Snow-covered mountains in New Mexico. Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock
The hottest temperature in New Mexico was recorded on June 27, 1994, at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Loving, where it reached a blazing 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
New York’s lowest recorded temperature was -52 degrees Fahrenheit in Old Forge on February 18, 1979.
Winter Sunrise from Bald Mountain in Old Forge, New York in the Adirondack Mountains. PureADK/Shutterstock
Jane Tormey, the official weather watcher for Old Forge for CNY Centralrecalled in 2013, “People were saying their milk froze on the way home from the store to home. A lot of cars obviously couldn’t get started. My car window driver’s side was shattered.”
North Carolina’s lowest recorded temperature was -34 degrees Fahrenheit in Mount Mitchell on January 21, 1985.
Fresh snow covers trees at the crest of Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. Bonita R. Cheshier/Shutterstock
One of the past century’s most extreme arctic outbreaks occurred between January 18 to January 22, 1985. According to The National Weather Servicenewspapers at the time reported at least 165 deaths in connection with the weather.
North Dakota’s lowest recorded temperature was -60 degrees Fahrenheit in Parshall on February 15, 1936.
Driving on state Highway 85 north of I-94 in North Dakota. CJ Cagney/Shutterstock
Coincidentally, both the hottest and coldest temperatures recorded in North Dakota’s history happened in the same year, with Steele hitting 121 degrees Fahrenheit on July 6, 1936, KYFR-TV reported in 2023.
Ohio’s lowest recorded temperature was -39 degrees Fahrenheit in Milligan on February 10, 1899.
A snowy winter sunrise scene in Ohio with the snow clinging to the trees. Michael Shake/Shutterstock
Ohio was another state affected by the unprecedented cold of February 1899. According to History.comthe US Weather Bureau reported 105 fatalities between January 29 and February 13 from the arctic temperatures and avalanches brought on by “the Great Arctic Outbreak.”
Oklahoma’s lowest recorded temperature was -31 degrees Fahrenheit in Nowata on February 10, 2011.
A street full of snow in Oklahoma. Wichakorn Kitrungrot/Shutterstock
2011 was reportedly Oklahoma’s third snowiest year, and the state’s record for most snowfall in 24 hours was reached in Spavinaw, with 27 inches, FOX23 News reported in 2020.
Oregon’s lowest recorded temperature was -54 degrees Fahrenheit in Ukiah on February 9, 1933, and in Seneca on February 10, 1933.
A winter sun sets over the Cascade Mountain Range in Central Oregon. Wasim Muklashy/Shutterstock
Ukiah and Seneca are occasionally known as “Oregon’s Icebox” due to their icy winter conditions. That said, Meacham residents have claimed the temperature once plummeted to -62 degrees Fahrenheit, but it has never been proven officially, The Oregonian reported in 2010.
Pennsylvania’s lowest recorded temperature was -42 degrees Fahrenheit in Smethport on January 5, 1904.
Winter landscape in Pennsylvania. Marcello Sgarlato/Shutterstock
By contrast, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, two consecutive days of 111 degrees Fahrenheit were recorded on July 9, 1936 and July 10, 1936, in the hottest temperature ever recorded in the state. Phoenixville is five hours from Smethport, where the coldest temperature was recorded 32 years prior.
Rhode Island’s lowest recorded temperature was -28 degrees Fahrenheit in Wood River Junction on January 11, 1942.
Winter sunrise in Rhode Island. JonPeckham/Shutterstock
According to NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committee, -25 degrees Fahrenheit was previously reported at Greene, Rhode Island, on February 5, 1996, but it could not be verified.
South Carolina’s lowest recorded temperature was -19 degrees Fahrenheit in Caesar’s Head on January 21, 1985.
Winter in South Carolina. Casual Creation/Shutterstock
In 1985, in the Carolinas, the coldest temperatures ever recorded were dubbed “The Coldest Day,” WMBF News reported in 2020.
South Dakota’s lowest recorded temperature was -58 degrees Fahrenheit in McIntosh on February 17, 1936.
Girl standing under a frozen waterfall in South Dakota. Byron Banasiak/Shutterstock
McIntosh, South Dakota, was home to just 131 people in 2021. It is the county seat of Corson County.
Tennessee’s lowest recorded temperature was -32 degrees Fahrenheit in Mountain City on December 30, 1917.
Snow Panorama in Tennessee. RichardBarrow/Shutterstock
The two days of 113 degrees Fahrenheit were recorded in Perryville on July 29, 1930, and August 9, 1930, making them the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Tennessee.
Texas’ lowest recorded temperature was -23 degrees Fahrenheit in Seminole on February 8, 1933. Previously, the same temperature was recorded in Tulia 6NE on February 12, 1899.
Winter sunrise on the face of a rock outcropping in the caprock canyons of West Texas. Chris Jeans/Shutterstock
Texas is known for its heat, but even this state has seen severe drops in temperatures — the best known was during the Great Blizzard of 1899.
Some unofficial reports even claim temperatures reached -30 degrees Fahrenheit in February 1899 at Wolf Creek, Texas. Either way, the Concho Valley Homepage reported in 2022 that newspapers in 1899 described the temperatures as “the worst freeze ever known in the state.”
Utah’s lowest recorded temperature was -50 degrees Fahrenheit in Strawberry Tunnel (East) on January 5, 1913.
A hiker ventures along the snowy trails of Utah in the winter. Ashley Hadzopoulos/Shutterstock
By contrast, the city of St. George has been home to the state’s record for hottest temperature — twice. A temperature of 117 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in July 1985 and again in July 2021.
Vermont’s lowest recorded temperature was -50 degrees Fahrenheit in Bloomfield on December 30, 1933.
Winter morning in Vermont. andrew12832/Shutterstock
Bloomfield, a town in Essex County, had a population of 217 in the 2020 US census. Its weather station existed from 1906 to 1968, according to Century 21 Farm & Forest.
Virginia’s lowest recorded temperature was -30 degrees Fahrenheit in Mountain Lake Biological Station on January 21, 1985.
Winter landscape in Virginia. mbell/Getty Images
Centered in the Allegheny Mountains is Mountain Lake, one of only two freshwater lakes in Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Just a year after this cold temperature was recorded, Mountain Lake was made famous again for the hit film “Dirty Dancing,” which it served as the backdrop for, according to the Mountain Lake Lodge website.
Washington’s lowest recorded temperature was -48 degrees Fahrenheit in Mazama and Winthrop on December 30, 1968.
North Cascades National Park near Winthrop, Washington. Marina Poushkina/Shutterstock
On June 29, 2021, Hanford, Washington reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest recorded temperature in that state.
West Virginia’s lowest recorded temperature was -37 degrees Fahrenheit in Lewisburg on December 30, 1917.
Snow on a frigid December day in a patch of woods and fields in West Virginia. Malachi Jacobs/Shutterstock
Just 13 years later, the highest temperature recorded was 112 degrees Fahrenheit in Moorefield, West Virginia, on August 4, 1930.
Wisconsin’s lowest recorded temperature was -55 degrees Fahrenheit in Couderay on February 4, 1996. Previously, it was in Couderay on February 2, 1996.
Stream running through a snow-covered Wisconsin forest in January. Michael Tatman/Shutterstock
The coldest temperature recorded in Wisconsin ranks ninth in the nation.
Wyoming’s lowest recorded temperature was -66 degrees Fahrenheit in Riverside Ranger Station in Yellowstone National Park on February 9, 1933.
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Bruce Beck/Shutterstock
Although Yellowstone’s temperatures in Wyoming haven’t plummeted to the levels they once did in 1933, “since most of the park lies at an elevation of 6,000 feet above sea level or higher, unpredictability characterizes Yellowstone’s weather,” the National Park Service has said.
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