In late December, an Arctic blast brought a bitter chill across the U.S. that led to new daily record low temperatures leading up to Christmas. Even with that impressive cold, no states set any new all-time low-temperature records.
Coldest on record
Coming with little surprise, Alaska is home to the lowest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. In 1971, Prospect Creek Camp, a small and remote settlement north of Fairbanks, dropped to 80 degrees below zero.
In the Lower 48, the Mountain West region is home to the coldest temperatures on record. Aside from Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado are the only states that have ever fallen more than 60 degrees below zero.
Idaho, Minnesota and the Dakotas have also fallen right around 60 below zero. If you’ve ever been to the Northern Plains during the winter, it should not come with much surprise.
Every state in the Lower 48 has dropped below zero degrees at least once. Yes, even Florida.
Back in Feb. 1899, Tallahassee, Fla. fell to -2 degrees. Not only did temperatures drop below zero, but nearly two inches of snow fell in the Florida Panhandle, and Tampa received the first measurable snowfall in the city’s history.
Snowball fight on the steps of the Florida Capitol in 1899 (State Archives of Florida)
The “Great Arctic Outbreak of Feb. 1899” is not only responsible for Florida’s coldest temperature ever, but also Louisiana’s, Nebraska’s (tied), Ohio’s and Texas’ (tied).
What’s the only state that has never dropped below zero? Hawaii. Mauna Kea Observatory holds the state’s lowest temperature record coming in at 12 degrees.
Extreme cold is predictable… except for one place
The three coldest months of the year, also known as meteorological winter, are December, January and February. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that every state’s coldest temperature has been in that three-month span… except for one.
According to NOAA, Hawaii’s lowest temperature ever was on May 12, 1979, at Mauna Kea Observatory. Even stranger? Hawaii’s hottest temperature ever is earlier in the year, in April.
Snow and cold aren’t uncommon around the peak of Mauna Kea. The tallest volcano in Hawaii’s peak is 13,476 feet high, and from its base to top, it’s the tallest mountain in the world.
As far as the rest of the low-temperature records go, it’s pretty self explanatory. Including Washington D.C., 45 of the 51 cold records have fallen in either January or February. The other five have been in December, with four of them coming close to January on Dec. 30.
Even in a warming world, extreme cold happens
There is no significant trend when looking at each state’s lowest temperature on record by decade.
According to NOAA, “since 1896, average winter temperatures across the contiguous 48 states have increased by nearly 3 degrees.”
Since winter is the most vulnerable season to rising temperatures compared to the other three, you might think that all-time cold records would become less common in a warming world.
Despite warmer overall temperatures, and unusually cold winter temperatures becoming less common—especially overnight lows—there are still all-time records being set as recently as 2019 in Illinois.
Our team of meteorologists dive deep into the science of weather and break down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.