Special Report

The Coldest Day Ever Recorded in Every State

KenWiedemann / E+ via Getty Images

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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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Alaska
> Coldest temp on record: -80° F
> Date(s): Jan. 23, 1971
> Location(s): Prospect Creek Camp

mbogacz / iStock via Getty Images

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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Jennifer Yakey-Ault / iStock via Getty Images

Connecticut
> Coldest temp on record: -32° F
> Date(s): Jan. 22,1961; Feb. 16, 1943
> Location(s): Coventry; Falls Village

aimintang / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

Delaware
> Coldest temp on record: -17° F
> Date(s): Jan. 17, 1893
> Location(s): Millsboro

SeanPavonePhoto / iStock via Getty Images

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)

Hotaik Sung / iStock via Getty Images

Hawaii
> Coldest temp on record: 12° F
> Date(s): May 17, 1979
> Location(s): Maunakea Observatories (Hawaii)

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Idaho
> Coldest temp on record: -60° F
> Date(s): Jan. 18, 1943
> Location(s): Island Park Dam

Illinois
> Coldest temp on record: -38° F
> Date(s): Jan. 31, 2019
> Location(s): Mt. Carroll

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Indiana
> Coldest temp on record: -36° F
> Date(s): Jan. 19, 1994
> Location(s): New Whiteland

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DarcyMaulsby / Getty Images

Iowa
> Coldest temp on record: -47° F
> Date(s): Jan. 12, 1912;Feb. 3, 1996
> Location(s): Washta; Elkader

Alex Potemkin / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

Kansas
> Coldest temp on record: -40° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1905
> Location(s): Lebanon

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BOB WESTON / iStock via Getty Images

Kentucky
> Coldest temp on record: -37° F
> Date(s): Jan. 19, 1994
> Location(s): Shelbyville

Louisiana
> Coldest temp on record: -16° F
> Date(s): Feb. 13, 1899
> Location(s): Minden

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

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

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

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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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

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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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

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

DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images

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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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

New York
> Coldest temp on record: -52° F
> Date(s): Feb. 18, 1979
> Location(s): Old Forge

Joel Carillet / iStock via Getty Images

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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Nyttend / Public Domain / Wikipedia

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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forestservicenw / Flickr

Oregon
> Coldest temp on record: -54° F
> Date(s): Feb. 9, 1933; Feb. 10, 1933
> Location(s): Ukiah; Seneca

J. Michael Jones / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

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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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

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

Hundley_Photography / iStock via Getty Images

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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Melissa Kopka / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

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

Shelly Bychowski / iStock via Getty Images

Wisconsin
> Coldest temp on record: -55° F
> Date(s): Feb. 4, 1996; Feb. 2, 1996
> Location(s): Couderay

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lightphoto / iStock via Getty Images

Wyoming
> Coldest temp on record: -66° F
> Date(s): Feb. 9, 1933
> Location(s): Riverside Ranger Stn. (Yellowstone NP)

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