Winter weather: What is the coldest temperature ever recorded in each state?

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By Debbie Lord

You don’t need someone to ask, “Cold enough for you?,” or hear “Bundle up!” when you head out.

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The nation is in the grip of an extended spell of cold weather that has seen temperatures plummet to as low as 33 below zero (in Whitehead, N.H. on Tuesday morning.)

As the cold weather has taken hold across the country, records have been set and broken. Even states in the usually moderate South have seen lows in the 20s and teens.

The list below shows the coldest temperature ever logged in all 50 states since such records have been kept, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Only one state, Hawaii, has escaped a record low below zero. The coldest recorded low was in Alaska where on Jan. 23, 1971 in Prospect Creek, the temperature was recorded at -80 degrees.

  1. Alabama: −27 °F, Jan. 30, 1966, New Market
  2. Alaska: −80 °F, Jan. 23, 1971, Prospect Creek
  3. Arizona: −40 °F, Jan. 7, 1971, McNary
  4. Arkansas: −29 °F, Feb. 13, 1905, Gravette
  5. California: −45 °F, Jan. 20, 1937, Boca
  6. Colorado: −61 °F, Feb. 1, 1985, Maybell
  7. Connecticut: −37 °F, Feb. 16, 1943, Norfolk
  8. Delaware: −17 °F, Jan. 17, 1893, Millsboro
  9. District of Columbia: −15 °F, Feb. 11, 1899, Washington
  10. Florida: −2 °F, Feb. 13, 1899, Tallahassee
  11. Georgia: −17 °F, Jan. 27, 1940, Chatsworth
  12. Hawaii: 15 °F, Jan. 5, 1975, Mauna Kea Observatories
  13. Idaho: −60 °F, Jan. 18, 1943, Island Park
  14. Illinois: −36 °F, Jan. 5, 1999, Congerville
  15. Indiana: −36 °F, Jan. 19, 1994, New Whiteland
  16. Iowa: −47 °F, Feb. 3, 1996, Elkader
  17. Kansas: −40 °F, Feb. 13, 1905, Lebanon
  18. Kentucky: −37 °F, Jan. 19, 1994, Shelbyville
  19. Louisiana: −16 °F, Feb. 13, 1899, Minden
  20. Maine: −50 °F, Jan. 16, 2009, Clayton Lake
  21. Maryland: −40 °F, Jan. 13, 1912, Oakland
  22. Massachusetts: −40 °F, Jan. 22, 1984, Chester
  23. Michigan: −51 °F, Feb. 9, 1934, Vanderbilt
  24. Minnesota: −60 °F, Feb. 2, 1996, Tower
  25. Mississippi: −19 °F, Jan. 30, 1966, Corinth
  26. Missouri: −40 °F, Feb. 13, 1905, Warsaw
  27. Montana: −70 °F, Jan. 20, 1954, Lincoln (Rogers Pass)
  28. Nebraska: −47 °F, Dec. 22, 1989, Oshkosh
  29. Nevada: −50 °F, Jan. 8, 1937, San Jacinto
  30. New Hampshire: −47 °F, Jan. 22, 1885, Randolph
  31. New Jersey: −34 °F, Jan. 5, 1904, River Vale
  32. New Mexico: −50 °F, Feb. 1, 1951, Gavilan
  33. New York: −52 °F, Feb. 18, 1979, Old Forge
  34. North Carolina, −34 °F, Jan. 21, 1985, Burnsville
  35. North Dakota, −60 °F, Feb. 15, 1936, Parshall
  36. Ohio, −39 °F, Feb. 10, 1899, Milligan
  37. Oklahoma, −31 °F, Feb. 10, 2011, Nowata
  38. Oregon, −54 °F, Feb. 10, 1933, Seneca
  39. Pennsylvania, −42 °F, Jan. 5, 1904, Smethport
  40. Rhode Island, −28 °F, Jan. 17, 1942, Richmond
  41. South Carolina, −22 °F, Jan. 21, 1985, Landrum
  42. South Dakota, −58 °F, Feb. 17, 1936, McIntosh
  43. Tennessee, −32 °F, Dec. 30, 1917, Mountain City
  44. Texas, −23 °F, Feb. 8, 1933, Seminole
  45. Utah, −50 °F, Jan. 5, 1913, Strawberry Tunnel
  46. Vermont, −50 °F, Dec. 30, 1933, Bloomfield
  47. Virginia, −30 °F, Jan. 22, 1985, Pembroke
  48. Washington, −48 °F, Dec. 30, 1968, Mazama
  49. West Virginia, −37 °F, Dec. 30, 1917, Lewisburg
  50. Wisconsin, −55 °F, Feb. 4, 1996, Couderay
  51. Wyoming, −63 °F, Feb. 9, 1933, Moran