Most Extreme (Hot and Cold) Weather Temperature States in the United States

When British soldiers were stationed in America during the Revolutionary War one of their biggest complaints about America was the extreme weather temperature differences that would occur each year in the colonies and now states. It was always too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter in America for most of the soldiers. Great Britain of course is an island so the temperatures there tend to be much more mild, moderate and less extreme than the weather temperatures found in the United States. This article lists the most extreme weather temperature states in the United States based upon the greatest differences between the record hottest temperature ever recorded and record coldest temperature ever recorded in each state.

Thirteen states have a difference of at least 170 degrees between their record hottest temperature and record coldest temperature but ironically considering how the British soldiers complained about the temperatures in America none of the 13 is an original state. How much more would the soldiers have complained if they had been stationed in any one of these most extreme temperature states? How many extreme weather temperature states can you name? Here is the list with the record temperatures, dates and the places the temperatures were recorded.

1) Montana - 187 degrees

Montana tops the list as the most extreme weather temperature state in the United States at 187 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Montana is 117 degrees which occurred on July 5, 1937 in Medicine Lake and the coldest temperature ever recorded in Montana is -70 degrees which occurred on January 20, 1954 in Rogers Pass.

2) Utah - 186 degrees

Utah ranks second is only one degree behind Montana at 186 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Utah is 118 degrees which occurred on July 5, 1985 in Saint George and the coldest temperature ever recorded in Utah is -69 degrees which occurred on February 1, 1985 in Peter's Sink (yes that is a town and not just someone's kitchen sink).

3) North Dakota - 181 degrees

At 181 degrees North Dakota ranks 3rd. The hottest temperature ever recorded in North Dakota is 121 degrees which occurred on July 6, 1936 in Steele and the coldest temperature ever recorded in North Dakota is -60 degrees which occurred on February 15, 1936 in Parshall.

3) Wyoming - 181 degrees

Wyoming ties North Dakota for 3rd place at 181 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Wyoming is 115 degrees which occurred on July 12, 1900 in Basin and the coldest temperature ever recorded in Wyoming is -66 degrees which occurred on February 9, 1933 in Riverside R.S.

5) Alaska - 180 degrees

Alaska ranks 5th at 180 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Alaska is exactly 100 degrees which occurred on June 27, 1915 in Fort Yukon. This is the lowest hottest temperature on the list and is also one half of the great weather trivia question Which Two States Have Never Been Above 100 Degrees? The other state will probably shock you if you do not know the answer. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Alaska is -80 degrees which occurred on January 23, 1971 in Prospect Creek Camp. That is the lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States and second lowest temperature ever in North America. Surprisingly the site that receives the highest average annual snow each year in the United States is not in Alaska though the Frontier State does have the 2nd highest snowfall site.

6) California - 179 degrees

The hottest temperature ever recorded in California is 134 degrees which occurred on July 10, 1913 in Greenland Ranch in Death Valley. This is the hottest temperature ever recorded in the United States and in North America and one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth. The coldest temperature ever recorded in California is -45 degrees which occurred on January 20, 1937 in Boca. That is the warmest of the coldest temperatures on the list and California is on this list because of the record heat in Death Valley. The second highest all time hottest temperature state in the United States is Arizona with a record hot temperature of 128 degrees which was recorded on two separate dates at the spring break town of Lake Havasu but Arizona falls 2 degrees short of making this list. Arizona does make the list of The Hottest States in the United States though and both California and Arizona have some of the Best Weather Cities in the US.

7) South Dakota - 178 degrees

The hottest temperature ever recorded in South Dakota is 120 degrees which occurred on July 5, 1936 in Gannvalley. The coldest temperature ever recorded in South Dakota is -58 degrees which occurred on February 17, 1936 in McIntosh.

7) Idaho - 178 degrees

Did you know that Napoleon Dynamite's home state had such wide extremes in temperatures? The hottest temperature ever recorded in Idaho is 118 degrees which occurred on July 28, 1934 in Orofino. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Idaho is -60 degrees which occurred on January 18, 1943 at the Island Park Dam. Both those places are well north of Preston where Napoleon Dynamite lived and the movie was filmed. Preston is in southern Idaho just north of the Utah border.

9) Nevada - 175 degrees

Much like the luck of the visiting gamblers who frequent Las Vegas and the state of Nevada temperatures run extremely hot and cold here which is to be expected in the desert. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Nevada is 125 degrees which occurred on June 29, 1994 in Laughlin which is south of Las Vegas. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Nevada is -50 degrees which occurred on January 8, 1937 in San Jacinto.

9) Colorado - 175 degrees

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Colorado is 114 degrees which occurred on July 11, 1888 in Bennett. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Colorado is -61 degrees which occurred on February 1, 1985 in Maybell. Most people think of mountains and snow when they think of Colorado but some portions of this state can get pretty hot in the summer.

11) Minnesota - 174 degrees

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Minnesota is 114 degrees which occurred on July 6, 1936 in Moorhead. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Minnesota is -60 degrees which occurred on February 2, 1996 in Tower. Did you know Minnesota is the most northern state of the lower 48? Despite that fact 23 other states have never recorded temperatures above 113 degrees including Florida which has never been above 109 degrees.

12) Oregon - 173 degrees

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Oregon is 119 degrees which occurred on August 10, 1898 in Pendleton. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Oregon is -54 degrees which occurred on February 10, 1933 in Seneca. Surprisingly Oregon's neighbor to the north Washington does not make this list as its coldest temperature ever is 6 degrees hotter than Oregon and its hottest temperature is 1 degrees less than Oregon. Due to Mount Rainier in the Cascade Mountains where it gets plenty cold and the desert like areas in eastern Washington where it can get pretty hot I thought the Evergreen State of Washington was a lock to make this list. Both Oregon and Washington though do have some of the Worst Weather Cities in the US.

13) New Mexico - 172 degrees

Rounding out the list is the Land of Enchantment at 172 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded in New Mexico is 122 degrees which occurred on June 27, 1994 in Lakewood. The coldest temperature ever recorded in New Mexico is -50 degrees which occurred on February 1, 1951 in Gavilan.

The variations in temperatures in these states can be extreme to say the least. The highest record cold temperature on the list is -45 degrees in California and the lowest record hottest temperature is 100 degrees in Alaska. By anyone's standards those are extreme temperatures and those are the least of the extremes. The most extreme cold is -80 degrees in Alaska and the most extreme heat is 134 degrees in California. A total difference of 214 degrees. Except for maybe Alaska all of these states can get exceedingly hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter.

Six of the 13 states on this list are also on the top ten list of The Coldest States in the United States but not one of these states makes the list of top ten Hottest States in the United States.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state_temperature_extremes