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U.S. States by Coldest Recorded Temperature

Name the U.S. states that have the lowest ever recorded temperatures.
Note: Locations at very high altitude do not typically have weather stations
Opposite quiz here
Quiz by Jarl5
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Last updated: August 16, 2021
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First submittedJuly 12, 2017
Times taken49,118
Average score70.0%
Rating4.50
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° F
State
° C
-80
Alaska
-62.2
-70
Montana
-56.7
-63
Wyoming
-52.8
-61
Colorado
-51.7
-60
Idaho
-51.1
° F
State
° C
-60
Minnesota
-51.1
-60
North Dakota
-51.1
-58
South Dakota
-50.0
-55
Wisconsin
-48.3
-54
Oregon
-47.8
32 Comments
+4
Level 77
Jul 17, 2017
Check out my quiz on the most climatologically diverse states. There's one for countries too!
+7
Level 61
Jul 17, 2017
Whoa, that might be the fastest I ever completed a quiz.
+7
Level 68
Jul 17, 2017
Well that's five points for you!
+9
Level 80
Jul 18, 2017
So South Dakota has both the 6th hottest and the 9th coldest recorded temperature in the US. Interesting.
+17
Level 76
Jul 18, 2017
The presence of oceans or other large bodies of water (the great lakes) usually helps regulate the temperature and it weeds out extremes. Both the hottest and the coldest temperatures are usually measured in the middle of the continental landmasses.
+2
Level 91
Jul 18, 2017
Still doesn't explain how a place called Ice Harbor, Washington ended up on the highest temperatures list.
+3
Level 73
Jul 17, 2019
The Ice Harbour Dam is inland actually, amongst the mountains. It's a lot drier in eastern Washington, and the climate is different from the coastal rainforest.
+26
Level 78
Jul 18, 2017
South Dakota is weird...check out Spearfish, South Dakota. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Spearfish holds the world record for the fastest recorded temperature change. On January 22, 1943 at about 7:30 a.m. MST, the temperature in Spearfish was −4°F (−20°C). The Chinook wind picked up speed rapidly, and two minutes later (7:32 a.m.) the temperature was +45 °F (+7 °C) above zero. The 49 °F or 27 °C rise in two minutes set a world record that still holds. By 9:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to 54 °F (12 °C). Suddenly, the chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to −4 °F or −20 °C. The 58 °F or 32.2 °C drop took only 27 minutes. The sudden change in temperatures caused glass windows to crack and windshields to instantly frost over.

+1
Level 68
Jul 18, 2017
I'm actually familiar with that story! It's really crazy
+5
Level 74
Dec 8, 2017
I'd never heard of the Chinook until I read Laura Ingalls Wilder's book _The Long Winter_. They were buried in snow one day, the Chinook began blowing in the night, and by next day they were buried in mud.
+2
Level 86
Dec 8, 2017
Sounds fishy to me.
+1
Level 66
Jun 1, 2024
Spearfishy?
+1
Level 89
Jul 6, 2018
@postwaste Sounds like you've been watching the first season of Fargo.
+2
Level 47
Feb 2, 2018
Heck yeah! As I and from South Dakota I can say that the temperatures do very a lot, as South Dakota is on the states with the highest and lowest recorded temperatures quizzes
+1
Level 68
Jan 2, 2023
Chinooks are common in many areas including Canada. The temperature difference they bring are crazy (and one of the main contributors to migraines).
+5
Level 79
Oct 17, 2017
yes - who would have thought that all that could be caused by a helicopter?
+9
Level 54
Dec 10, 2017
Missed Alaska, lemme see what crappy excuse I can pull out...
+3
Level 79
Dec 31, 2020
You were focusing on the contiguous United States
+1
Level 89
Jul 6, 2018
Blame Canada!
+3
Level 61
Aug 27, 2019
“The friend zone” was my first guess. Then Alaska
+3
Level 26
Dec 31, 2020
Just got Wisconsin in under the wire. The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field !!!
+1
Level 38
Dec 31, 2020
COLORADO ?!?
+4
Level 33
Jan 4, 2021
LOL, why is that a surprise? rockies go through colorado as well.
+5
Level 83
Aug 17, 2021
Who'd have thought that it gets really cold at 14000+ feet?
+1
Level 24
Dec 31, 2020
Interesting that my guessed states and not guessed states percentage actually lined up. Weird.
+2
Level 43
Jan 4, 2021
Honestly surprised that Michigan wasn't on there considering the insane amount of lake effect snow that we get.
+1
Level 83
Aug 17, 2021
Snow does not necessarily mean the coldest temps.
+1
Level 69
May 28, 2023
Great lakes regulation
+2
Level 85
Aug 16, 2021
Utah has been ripped off!

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sinks

+1
Level ∞
Aug 16, 2021
Here's what the NOAA says:

"The previously reported record of -69 degrees F set at Peter's Sink on Feb 1, 1985 is widely considered an accurate observation, but no information concerning the observation or the station could be identified, and the value is heavily affected by the local terrain. The -50 degrees F at Strawberry Tunnel is the coldest temperature observation that can be verified from publicly available observations at established observation stations in Utah."

+3
Level 59
Nov 18, 2021
I live in oregon and that’s the only one i missed. Washington didn’t work so i assumed oregon wouldn’t
+1
Level 90
Mar 14, 2024
Brrrr!