Coldest Places in United States
Lowest Temperatures
The lowest temperature ever recorded in the United States was -80 °F (-62 °C) on January 23, 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp, located near the Arctic Circle along the Alaska pipeline. This is not much warmer than the -81.4 °F record low for North America that Snag in the Yukon dropped to on February 3, 1947. On that record cold February day, Tanacross Alaska reached -75 °F.
The continental US hit its coldest recorded temperature of -70 °F on January 20, 1954 at Rogers Pass, Montana. The pass sits at 5,470 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains, northwest of Helena.
| Location | °F | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Peter’s Sink, Utah | -69 | Feb 1, 1985 |
| Riverside RS, Wyoming | -66 | Feb 9, 1933 |
| Maybell, Colorado | -61 | Feb 1, 1985 |
| Island Park Dam, Idaho | -60 | Jan 18, 1943 |
| Tower, Minnesota | -60 | Feb 2, 1996 |
| Parshall, North Dakota | -60 | Feb 15, 1936 |
| McIntosh, South Dakota | -58 | Feb 17, 1936 |
| Tetonia, Idaho | -57 | Feb 9, 1933 |
| Couderay, Wisconsin | -55 | Feb 4, 1996 |
| Seneca, Oregon | -54 | Feb 10, 1933 |
| Old Forge, New York | -52 | Feb 18, 1979 |
| San Jacinto, Nevada | -50 | Jan 8, 1937 |
| Gavilan, New Mexico | -50 | Feb 1, 1951 |
| Bloomfield, Vermont | -50 | Dec 30, 1933 |
On any single day, the mountain town of Stanley, Idaho, is most often the coldest place in the 48 continental states.
| Location | Days of Lowest Temperature in US |
|---|---|
| Stanley, Idaho | 398 |
| West Yellowstone, Montana | 337 |
| Gunnison, Colorado | 170 |
| Truckee, California | 161 |
| Alamosa, Colorado | 142 |
| Saranac Lake, New York | 128 |
| Jackson, Wyoming | 109 |
| Berlin, New Hampshire | 92 |
| Fraser, Colorado | 91 |
| Wisdom, Montana | 91 |
Coldest Weather All Year
The coldest climate year-round in the United States is at Barrow on Alaska's north coast. There the normal daily mean temperature is well below freezing, at 10.4 °F (-12 °C).
| Location | Daily Mean °F |
|---|---|
| Mt. Washington, New Hampshire | 27.2 |
| International Falls, Minnesota | 37.4 |
| Marquette, Michigan | 38.7 |
| Duluth, Minnesota | 39.1 |
| Caribou, Maine | 39.2 |
| Location | Days Freezing per Year |
|---|---|
| Mt. Washington, New Hampshire | 242 |
| Alamosa, Colorado | 227 |
| Ely, Nevada | 218 |
| Flagstaff, Arizona | 208 |
| Burns, Oregon | 205 |
| International Falls, Minnesota | 197 |
| Elko, Nevada | 193 |
| Marquette, Michigan | 192 |
| Kalispell, Montana | 189 |
| Williston, North Dakota | 189 |
| Caribou, Maine | 186 |
| Winnemucca, Nevada | 186 |
| Bismarck, North Dakota | 186 |
| Sheridan, Wyoming | 185 |
| Duluth, Minnesota | 183 |
| Lander, Wyoming | 183 |
| Casper, Wyoming | 181 |
| Missoula, Montana | 180 |
| Milford, Utah | 180 |
