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Meet the coldest cities in America
Feeling chilly? Chances are, if you're not a resident of the following five cities, you really don't have it that bad. The Weather Channel recently released a list of the coldest cities in America, according to NOAA National Climatic Data Center average annual temperature data from the last 30 years.Caribou, Maine, came in fifth on the list. Dubbed the "Most Northeastern City in America", Caribou's average annual temperature of 39.7 degrees is partially due to a "polar vortex" over the Hudson Bay, which directs cold air from Canada into northern Maine. It gets more than 9 feet of snow each winter - youch.
Fourth was Jackson, Wyoming, with an average annual temperature of 39.4 degrees. Because of its proximity to Grand Teton, Yellowstone National Park, and Jackson Hole, Jackson is a popular tourist spot, but visitors should pack warm. Since Jackson is surrounded by mountains on three sides, cold air settles into the valley at night, resulting in morning freezes approximately 250 days of the year.
Coming in third on the list was Gunnison, Colorado, located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. With an elevation of 7640 feet and an average annual temperature of 38.1 degrees, visitors can expect freezes almost every day of the year.
International Falls, Minnesota, is the second coldest city in America, with an average annual temperature of 37.8 degrees. An all-time record low of -55 degrees has earned it the nicknames "Frostbite Falls" and "Icebox of the Nation".
For the most part, researchers limited the list to cities with more than 5,000 people. The one exception was the number one spot, which went to Barrow, Alaska, located 5 degrees north of the Arctic Circle. With an average temperature of -- get this -- 11.7 degrees, Barrow is in a league of its own when it comes to cold. In fact, from late November to mid January, the sun does not even rise over the horizon. Brr.
[via weather.com, Flickr image via Bob Johnston]
International Falls, Minnesota, is the second coldest city in America, with an average annual temperature of 37.8 degrees. An all-time record low of -55 degrees has earned it the nicknames "Frostbite Falls" and "Icebox of the Nation".
For the most part, researchers limited the list to cities with more than 5,000 people. The one exception was the number one spot, which went to Barrow, Alaska, located 5 degrees north of the Arctic Circle. With an average temperature of -- get this -- 11.7 degrees, Barrow is in a league of its own when it comes to cold. In fact, from late November to mid January, the sun does not even rise over the horizon. Brr.
[via weather.com, Flickr image via Bob Johnston]
Filed under: North America, United States, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bill Smythe Jan 26th 2012 8:37PM
You forgot Butte Montana
RobertK Jan 26th 2012 8:38PM
Excuse me ?? 37 degrees is cold?? Where does this writer live Tuscon??
hugo fuguzev Jan 26th 2012 10:33PM
Average annual temperature - that means the average daily temperature for every day of the year.
Ray Jan 26th 2012 11:19PM
I agree. I grew up in Western Pennsylvania. 37 degrees was often Easter weather!
Robert Jan 26th 2012 11:24PM
Greenhouse affect my ASS! this shit is cold when it gets cold trust me ,its not fit fer man or beast when it rears its ugly head and you guy have no idea what -20 below feels like evidently
childs play ~!
ron Jan 27th 2012 5:20AM
Heck you want cold come to my bedroom when i Get the wife peeved now thats cold:-o
Larry Williams Jan 27th 2012 10:27AM
This is an interesting topic but would be more meaningful if categories of larger cities were included.
OfAlaska Jan 26th 2012 10:58PM
Jeez! It's been mostly below zero here in Anchorage for FOUR MONTHS with no end in sight, and it's a hell of a lot colder in Fairbanks! We have 2000 hungry moose in town who are taking refuge from the deep snow and wolf packs, eating the ornamental trees, and it got up to -3 today. We have all the coldest cities, and you characters way down south are just fooling youselves!
leslierichard Jan 26th 2012 11:12PM
Gosh, I have yet to see a moose in the wild although we spent weeks at a time in Idaho's panhandle. I realize they can be dangerous but I'm still envious of seeing those giant creatures! We live in Virginia, incidentally.
AlyceMD Jan 27th 2012 1:42AM
It's been about 50 below in Prudhoe Bay recently! I'm waiting for it to snow again here in Anchorage, bacause that will mean it will have warmed up some!
NeedABeach Jan 26th 2012 11:37PM
Def Butte & Helena Montana. Interesting they did not mention the coldest temperature in the US excluding Alaska is Rogers Pass Montana near Helena at almost -70 below zero without the windchill factor even!
Steve Jan 27th 2012 3:24AM
I was thinking that one time in northern Minnesota it got down to -80 (not at International Falls though someplace east of there)
VietnamTET Jan 27th 2012 12:54AM
You forgot California (Ooop's! you said cities, right?)
LeeAnn Jan 27th 2012 5:07AM
LOL.............This writer thinks that 9 feet of snow in Caribou, Maine each season is a lot. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha I guess he better go back and do some research because in South Lake Tahoe/Stateline, Nevada they get that sometimes in one week !!!!