Coldest Cities in the US During Winter
Out of the 40 largest cities in United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin has the coldest winter weather, based on normal daily temperatures. It is the only American city that on average remains below freezing throughout the day during December, January and February. However, mean daily temperatures for eight other US cities are typically below freezing (32 °F) at that time of year.
Major cities included in these weather rankings are all the cities in the United States with over 440,000 people on July 1, 2006, according to the US Census Bureau's estimates.
| City | Daily Winter Mean °F |
|---|---|
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 24.1 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 25.5 |
| Detroit, Michigan | 27.1 |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 28.4 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | 29.8 |
| Kansas City, Missouri | 30.4 |
| Denver, Colorado | 30.9 |
| Columbus, Ohio | 31.3 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 31.9 |
Coldest Winter Days
Ten of the biggest American cities have temperatures that on an average winter's day don't get above 42 °F (5.6 °C).
| City | Average Daily Maximum °F |
|---|---|
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 31.2 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 32.9 |
| Detroit, Michigan | 33.8 |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 35.3 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | 37.9 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 39.0 |
| Columbus, Ohio | 39.2 |
| Kansas City, Missouri | 39.5 |
| New York, New York | 40.6 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 41.8 |
Chilliest Winter Lows
Temperatures drop below 25 °F (-3.9 °C) in nine major US cities during a typical winter day.
| City | Average Daily Minimum °F |
|---|---|
| Denver, Colorado | 16.9 |
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 17.0 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 18.0 |
| Detroit, Michigan | 20.4 |
| Kansas City, Missouri | 21.2 |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 21.6 |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | 21.7 |
| Columbus, Ohio | 23.2 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 24.7 |