After decades of denial by certain elements of society at large and the private sector in particular, the debate over whether or not global warming is occurring and, if so, whether human activity is to blame has become more specific. The question now is what to do about more frequent flood disasters, wildfires, and record-shattering heat waves in a world that’s heavily reliant on spewing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere in return for economic growth and financial property. (Here are some natural landmarks already damaged or destroyed by climate change.)
It’s important to remember, though, that global warming doesn’t mean an end to cold weather For example, Oklahoma suffered one of its worst winter storms on record in 2011, when ice storms toppled trees and electrical lines, dropping up to 21 inches of snow in a state where winters are often relatively mild and short, and sending the mercury plummeting to -31º F.
To identify the coldest day in history in every state, 247 Wall St. reviewed the latest state records compiled by the State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC), a panel responsible for monitoring observations that may exceed all-time records for National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (For comparison, see the hottest day on record in every state.)
Along with Oklahoma, two other states – Illinois and Maine – hold cold-snap records for the 21st century, their temperatures falling to -38º F and -50º F, respectively.
Some states still have cold records dating back more than a century. The winter of 1899, for example, inflicted record-low temperatures that still stand today in Ohio, Louisiana, and Florida. The years that hold the largest number of standing lowest-temp records are 1933 and 1985, each with four states.
Click here to see the coldest day every recorded in every state.
Predictably, most low-temperature records have been set in the dead of winter, mostly between early January and mid-February. However, Hawaii’s Maunakea Observatories, located on the summit of a dormant volcano at an altitude of 13,796 feet, recorded that state’s lowest-ever temperature of 12º F on May 17, 1979.
Alabama
> Coldest temp on record: -27° F
> Date(s): Jan. 30, 1966
> Location(s): New Market
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Alaska
> Coldest temp on record: -80° F
> Date(s): Jan. 23, 1971
> Location(s): Prospect Creek Camp
Arizona
> Coldest temp on record: -40° F
> Date(s): Jan. 7, 1971
> Location(s): Hawley Lake
Arkansas
> Coldest temp on record: -29° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1905
> Location(s): Brook Farm Pond (near Gravette)
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California
> Coldest temp on record: -45° F
> Date(s): Jan. 20, 1937
> Location(s): Boca
Colorado
> Coldest temp on record: -61° F
> Date(s): Feb. 1, 1985
> Location(s): Maybell
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Connecticut
> Coldest temp on record: -32° F
> Date(s): Jan. 22,1961; Feb. 16, 1943
> Location(s): Coventry; Falls Village
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Delaware
> Coldest temp on record: -17° F
> Date(s): Jan. 17, 1893
> Location(s): Millsboro
Florida
> Coldest temp on record: -2° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1899
> Location(s): Tallahassee
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Georgia
> Coldest temp on record: -17° F
> Date(s): Jan. 27, 1940
> Location(s): CCC Fire Camp F-16 (nr. Beatum)
Hawaii
> Coldest temp on record: 12° F
> Date(s): May 17, 1979
> Location(s): Maunakea Observatories (Hawaii)
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Idaho
> Coldest temp on record: -60° F
> Date(s): Jan. 18, 1943
> Location(s): Island Park Dam
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Illinois
> Coldest temp on record: -38° F
> Date(s): Jan. 31, 2019
> Location(s): Mt. Carroll
Indiana
> Coldest temp on record: -36° F
> Date(s): Jan. 19, 1994
> Location(s): New Whiteland
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Iowa
> Coldest temp on record: -47° F
> Date(s): Jan. 12, 1912;Feb. 3, 1996
> Location(s): Washta; Elkader
Kansas
> Coldest temp on record: -40° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1905
> Location(s): Lebanon
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Kentucky
> Coldest temp on record: -37° F
> Date(s): Jan. 19, 1994
> Location(s): Shelbyville
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Louisiana
> Coldest temp on record: -16° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1899
> Location(s): Minden
Maine
> Coldest temp on record: -50° F
> Date(s): Jan. 16, 2009
> Location(s): Big Black River (nr. Saint Pamphile, PQ)
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Maryland
> Coldest temp on record: -40°F
> Date(s): Jan. 13, 1912
> Location(s): Oakland
Massachusetts
> Coldest temp on record: -35° F
> Date(s): Jan. 5, 1904; Feb. 15, 1943; January 12, 1981
> Location(s):Chester; Coldbrook; Chester
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Michigan
> Coldest temp on record: -51° F
> Date(s): Feb. 9, 1934
> Location(s): Vanderbilt
Minnesota
> Coldest temp on record: -60° F
> Date(s): Feb. 2, 1996
> Location(s): Tower
Mississippi
> Coldest temp on record: -19° F
> Date(s): Jan. 30, 1966
> Location(s): Corinth
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Missouri
> Coldest temp on record: -40° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1905
> Location(s): Warsaw
Montana
> Coldest temp on record: -70° F
> Date(s): Jan. 20, 1954
> Location(s): Rogers Pass
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Nebraska
> Coldest temp on record: -47° F
> Date(s): Feb. 12, 1899; Dec. 22, 1989
> Location(s): Bridgeport; Oshkosh
Nevada
> Coldest temp on record: -50° F
> Date(s): Jan. 8, 1937
> Location(s): San Jacinto
New Hampshire
> Coldest temp on record: -50° F
> Date(s): Jan. 22, 1885
> Location(s): Mount Washington
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New Jersey
> Coldest temp on record: -34° F
> Date(s): Jan. 5, 1904
> Location(s): River Vale
New Mexico
> Coldest temp on record: -50° F
> Date(s): Feb. 1, 1951
> Location(s): Gavilan
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New York
> Coldest temp on record: -52° F
> Date(s): Feb. 18, 1979
> Location(s): Old Forge
North Carolina
> Coldest temp on record: -34° F
> Date(s): Jan. 21, 1985
> Location(s): Mount Mitchell
North Dakota
> Coldest temp on record: -60° F
> Date(s): Feb. 15, 1936
> Location(s): Parshall
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Ohio
> Coldest temp on record: -39° F
> Date(s): Feb. 10, 1899
> Location(s): Milligan
Oklahoma
> Coldest temp on record: -31° F
> Date(s): Feb. 10, 2011
> Location(s): Nowata
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Oregon
> Coldest temp on record: -54° F
> Date(s): Feb. 9, 1933; Feb. 10, 1933
> Location(s): Ukiah; Seneca
Pennsylvania
> Coldest temp on record: -42° F
> Date(s): Jan. 5, 1904
> Location(s): Smethport
Rhode Island
> Coldest temp on record: -28° F
> Date(s): Jan. 11, 1942
> Location(s): Wood River Junction
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South Carolina
> Coldest temp on record: -19° F
> Date(s): Jan. 21, 1985
> Location(s): Caesar’s Head
South Dakota
> Coldest temp on record: -58° F
> Date(s): Feb. 17, 1936
> Location(s): McIntosh
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Tennessee
> Coldest temp on record: -32° F
> Date(s): Dec. 30, 1917
> Location(s): Mountain City
Texas
> Coldest temp on record: -23° F
> Date(s): Feb. 12, 1899; Feb. 8, 1933
> Location(s): Tulia 6NE; Seminole
Utah
> Coldest temp on record: -50° F
> Date(s): Jan. 5, 1913
> Location(s): Strawberry Tunnel (East)
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Vermont
> Coldest temp on record: -50° F
> Date(s): Dec. 30, 1933
> Location(s): Bloomfield
Virginia
> Coldest temp on record: -30° F
> Date(s): Jan. 21, 1985
> Location(s): Mountain Lake Biological Station
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Washington
> Coldest temp on record: -48° F
> Date(s): Dec. 30, 1968
> Location(s): Mazama, Winthrop
West Virginia
> Coldest temp on record: -37° F
> Date(s): Dec. 30, 1917
> Location(s): Lewisburg
Wisconsin
> Coldest temp on record: -55° F
> Date(s): Feb. 4, 1996; Feb. 2, 1996
> Location(s): Couderay
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Wyoming
> Coldest temp on record: -66° F
> Date(s): Feb. 9, 1933
> Location(s): Riverside Ranger Stn. (Yellowstone NP)
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