Unusual weather trivia that is hard to google

[Scott]

Tokyo?

 

No, but good guess.   Mt Fuji actually doesn't have any permanent snow or glaciers (despite some dubious claims to the contrary).    The snow-cap actually melts completely in most years.  

 

http://images.summitpost.org/original/985549.jpg

 

Hint:   The answer is not a city in Asia.

[BLI snowman]

Kihei, Maui

 

Only average 12.8" there annually. 

[Front Ranger]

Another trivia question:

 

What is the largest city in the world in which permanent snow and/or glaciers are visible from the city?

Santiago, Chile?

[wx_statman]

No, but good guess.   Mt Fuji actually doesn't have any permanent snow or glaciers (despite some dubious claims to the contrary).    The snow-cap actually melts completely in most years.  

 

http://images.summitpost.org/original/985549.jpg

 

Hint:   The answer is not a city in Asia.

 

Interesting. I would have guessed that Fuji had a permanent snowcap, but I guess not. 

 

The answer has to be Mexico City (view of Popocatepetl) with Tehran (view of Damavand) a close second.

 

Unless I'm missing something!

[Scott]

The answer has to be Mexico City (view of Popocatepetl) 

 

 

Yes; it is Mexico City.   Due to recent eruptions, much of the snow has melted off Popocatepetl (or has been covered in ash), but you can still always see snow on Iztaccihualtl.   When the views aren't obscured by pollution (which is very often), it is quite pretty:

 

http://i.imgur.com/G3N7Oc3.jpg

 

I would have guessed that Fuji had a permanent snowcap, but I guess not. 

 

 

Most photographs just happen to show the mountain with snow on it, since it is more scenic that way!  The mountain is much less aesthetic after the snow melts off. 

 

Interestingly, it is not Japanese websites that sometimes claim that Mt Fuji has glaciers (since almost everyone in Japan knows that), but US websites that claim that Hood is the second most climbed glaciated mountain in the world, after Mt Fuji (which is of course a false claim).

 

Anyway, in order, I believe that the largest cities from where permanent snow and/or glaciers can be seen are as follows:

 

1.  Mexico City

2.  Tehran

3.   Bogota

4.  Santiago

 

For people that don't travel much or know geography, it might be surprising to some that Mexico, Iran, and Colombia have the largest three cities from which you can see permanent snow and glaciers, since those might not be the places that come to mind when thinking of snow and glaciers.   

 

I don't think that you can see snow/glaciers from Lahore, but if you can it would be next.   I believe that after that it would probably be Seattle or La Paz, though it would depend if you count city or metro populations.  

[Front Ranger]

Yes; it is Mexico City.   Due to recent eruptions, much of the snow has melted off Popocatepetl (or has been covered in ash), but you can still always see snow on Iztaccihualtl.   When the views aren't obscured by pollution (which is very often), it is quite pretty:

 

http://i.imgur.com/G3N7Oc3.jpg

 

 

Most photographs just happen to show the mountain with snow on it, since it is more scenic that way!  The mountain is much less aesthetic after the snow melts off. 

 

Interestingly, it is not Japanese websites that sometimes claim that Mt Fuji has glaciers (since almost everyone in Japan knows that), but US websites that claim that Hood is the second most climbed glaciated mountain in the world, after Mt Fuji (which is of course a false claim).

 

Anyway, in order, I believe that the largest cities from where permanent snow and/or glaciers can be seen are as follows:

 

1.  Mexico City

2.  Tehran

3.   Bogota

4.  Santiago

 

For people that don't travel much or know geography, it might be surprising to some that Mexico, Iran, and Colombia have the largest three cities from which you can see permanent snow and glaciers, since those might not be the places that come to mind when thinking of snow and glaciers.   

 

I don't think that you can see snow/glaciers from Lahore, but if you can it would be next.   I believe that after that it would probably be Seattle or La Paz, though it would depend if you count city or metro populations.  

 

I would think Vienna would be ahead. But like you said, depends on metro or actual city populations.

[Brennan]

Only average 12.8" there annually.

I thought the question was which US city has equaled or exceeded their entire annual rainfall in 1 day. I also didn't realize Kihei's annual rainfall was 12 inches. Thought it was lower

[Scott]

I thought the question was which US city has equaled or exceeded their entire annual rainfall in 1 day. I also didn't realize Kihei's annual rainfall was 12 inches. Thought it was lower

 

A few scattered US places have exceeded there average annual rainfall in a day.   The question was which one of the ones to do this has the highest annual precipitation.   You pointing out Kihei is very interesting though.  

 

I would think Vienna would be ahead. But like you said, depends on metro or actual city populations.

 

 

Good point on Vienna.   The #5 spot can have more than one answer for sure.  

[wx_statman]

Here's another interesting tidbit - you can see the snow/glacial ice on Pico Cristobal Colon from the coast in northern Colombia, at around 11N latitude. This is the only place on either the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico coastline from which you can see snow year-round. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_Crist%C3%B3bal_Col%C3%B3n

[IbrChris]

I did a little ad-hoc analysis of the Idaho record high at Orofino in July 1934. Feel free to check out my post and leave a comment. I admit my conclusion surprised even me, given my initial skepticism of the reading.

[Scott]

Without cheating, match the record highs in each month to the month they belong to.  This is for the LAX station:

 

January

February

March 

April

May 

June

July 

August

October

November 

December

 

110

106

104

102

101

98

97

97

95

94

92

91

 

Which monthly record high temperature goes to which month?

 

 

Since this question hasn't been answered yet, here are the correct answers:

 

January = 91

February = 92

March = 95

April = 102

May = 97

June = 104

July = 97

August = 98

September = 110

October = 106

November = 101

December = 94

 

It is interesting that July and August have never reached 100F at the Los Angeles Airport, while April, June, September, October, and November have.

[wx_statman]

Since this question hasn't been answered yet, here are the correct answers:

 

January = 91

February = 92

March = 95

April = 102

May = 97

June = 104

July = 97

August = 98

September = 110

October = 106

November = 101

December = 94

 

It is interesting that July and August have never reached 100F at the Los Angeles Airport, while April, June, September, October, and November have.

 

Shows you the dominance of the four corners high and its unwillingness to be displaced during those months. Its mean position, of course, doesn't allow for the best gradients to set up over Southern California for producing offshore flow.  

[Scott]

I did find one more location that gives Ibapah a run for the money, but the period of record is shorter:

 

http://images.summitpost.org/original/984436.JPG

 

Another one which seems to beat the others for any station that has at least 30 years of data:

 

http://images.summitpost.org/original/985847.JPG

[wx_statman]

Here are some places I know of in the lower 48 that do have their record lows in March, or did until not that long ago:

 

Iowa (several locations) due to the March 1962 cold snap.  Southeast USA (March 1980 cold snap, though most of these were eclipsed in 1985)

 

Those were in early March though.   

 

Another good example was the -18 in Williamsport PA on 2/28/1934. This was the lesser known "second shot" that month, after the great cold wave centered on the 9th-10th. For Williamsport, this reading stood as the all-time record low until 1/21/1994, when they dropped to -20. 

[Scott]

Another good example was the -18 in Williamsport PA on 2/28/1934. This was the lesser known "second shot" that month, after the great cold wave centered on the 9th-10th. For Williamsport, this reading stood as the all-time record low until 1/21/1994, when they dropped to -20. 

 

Nice.  In my opinion, the most impressive one might be Hampton Iowa with a -35F on March 1 1962.   Records for Hampton go back to 1893 and no other reading in any months have matched this.  Many other readings in Iowa on that day were nearly as impressive (such as the -34 at Waterloo).  

 

http://images.summitpost.org/original/986017.JPG

 

In Iowa, Hampton (records back to 1893), Waterloo (records back to 1950), Delaware (records back to 1893), Dubuque Lock and Dam (records back to 1948), Independence (records back to 1948; the March 1 1962 reading was also the only -30F ever recorded there), Iowa Falls (records back to 1948), Vinton (records back to 1948), and Winterset all have their record lows on March 1 1962.

 

In Minnesota, Minneapolis hit -34 and International Falls -38 on the same day.   

 

In the west, in my opinion, by far the most impressive March cold snap was on March 17 1906 in Western Wyoming.  Unfortunately, there weren't that many weather stations in the region during that time period, but the ones that did exist recorded some incredible readings.  Jackson, which usually is not as cold as some of the other surrounding places hit -49, the 3rd coldest reading ever recorded there (after -52 on December 20 1924 and -50 on January 1 1979), and Snake River hit -50, the second coldest reading ever recorded there (after -56 on February 6 1914).  No March temperatures have even come remotely close to this in either location and the readings are even more remarkable considering that they were recorded on the 17th, rather than early in the month.

[IbrChris]

Nice. In my opinion, the most impressive one might be Hampton Iowa with a -35F on March 1 1962. Records for Hampton go back to 1893 and no other reading in any months have matched this. Many other readings in Iowa on that day were nearly as impressive (such as the -34 at Waterloo).

 

 

In Iowa, Hampton (records back to 1893), Waterloo (records back to 1950), Delaware (records back to 1893), Dubuque Lock and Dam (records back to 1948), Independence (records back to 1948; the March 1 1962 reading was also the only -30F ever recorded there), Iowa Falls (records back to 1948), Vinton (records back to 1948), and Winterset all have their record lows on March 1 1962.

 

In Minnesota, Minneapolis hit -34 and International Falls -38 on the same day.

 

In the west, in my opinion, by far the most impressive March cold snap was on March 17 1906 in Western Wyoming. Unfortunately, there weren't that many weather stations in the region during that time period, but the ones that did exist recorded some incredible readings. Jackson, which usually is not as cold as some of the other surrounding places hit -49, the 3rd coldest reading ever recorded there (after -52 on December 20 1924 and -50 on January 1 1979), and Snake River hit -50, the second coldest reading ever recorded there (after -56 on February 6 1914). No March temperatures have even come remotely close to this in either location and the readings are even more remarkable considering that they were recorded on the 17th, rather than early in the month.

The March 1906 event was pretty amazing even in Idaho and Oregon. Believe Oregon managed -20s in that event. Idaho Falls hit -26 back in the COOP days prior to the airport readings which begin in 1948. Since then the March record has been around -15 and much earlier in the month. It's a shame very little data exists for March 1867 in the Pacific NW but what does exist points to a month that was colder than all but our top 10 or so DJF months.

[Scott]

The March 1906 event was pretty amazing even in Idaho and Oregon. Believe Oregon managed -20s in that event. Idaho Falls hit -26 back in the COOP days prior to the airport readings which begin in 1948. 

 

 

Yes, it also hit Idaho and Oregon.   American Falls Idaho hit -16, which is very cold for that location for mid-March.  

 

Western Wyoming seems to have produced the most remarkable readings from the cold snap, with temperatures very close to the all time record lows for any time of year.   Other than Jackson and Snake River, Yellowstone was down in the -40's as well.

 

Western Montana had some very cold temperatures as well with Fort Logan dropping down to -45. on 3/15/1906.   Only a few February readings in the 1800's are colder.

 

The coldest air seems to have stalled in the area of Southern Idaho and southwest Wyoming.   South of that region, it didn't get nearly as cold.   Vernal Utah hit 4 and Salt Lake City hit 17, which although slightly chilly, were rather unremarkable readings compared to the ones recorded just to the north.

[wx_statman]

The March 1906 event was pretty amazing even in Idaho and Oregon. Believe Oregon managed -20s in that event. Idaho Falls hit -26 back in the COOP days prior to the airport readings which begin in 1948. Since then the March record has been around -15 and much earlier in the month. It's a shame very little data exists for March 1867 in the Pacific NW but what does exist points to a month that was colder than all but our top 10 or so DJF months.

 

Granite 4WSW hit -23 on 3/16/1906. Yonna, to the east of Klamath Falls, recorded -26 on the same date but their readings ran suspiciously cold between the start of observations in 1905 and the early 1920's. They clearly moved their sensor sometime in the early 1920's because their readings for the rest of the POR (which ended in 1949) didn't stand out at all among the eastern OR cold spots. This includes the record cold waves of Dec 1924, Jan 1930, Feb 1933, and Jan 1937. I'm guessing their sensor wasn't at standard height during the early part of the century. 

 

http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-48E1E25A-5D9D-4E0E-A0A1-931BECB294BA.pdf

 

March 1867 was amazing. Fort Vancouver had six consecutive sub-freezing afternoons (as measured by 2pm observations) from March 12-17. There hasn't been anything remotely close to that sort of long lasting, intense cold wave so late in the spring since. Fort Colville had a 7am observation of -20 on the 12th and averaged 9.2F among all 31 observations @ 7am that month. The actual average minimum temperature that month was obviously even lower, since many of the 7am observations didn't capture the lowest temperature of the night. For comparison, the lowest average minimum during March in the modern era in Colville was 18.7F in 1965, and the lowest minimum was -14 in March 1919. The Signal Service station in Helena, MT averaged -0.4F for the 31 observations taken @ 7am that month, compared to a lowest average minimum of 9.0F in March 1943 at the Helena WSO station (1938-present). A 7am reading of -28 was observed on the 12th, which is second only to the ridiculous -30 on 3/25/1955 for any station in Helena in the month of March. Once again though, there's a pretty good chance the actual minimum on 3/12/1867 was in the -30's, but was not captured due to the practice of only taking three daily observations during that era. 

[wx_statman]

 

They are in the same region as St Paul Island.  Supposedly Shemya Air Force Base had a record low of 2F on April 2 1988.   To me, the Shemya reading seems very suspect, but St Paul Island did record a -3F a few days later, so it might be legit. (Cold snaps seem to take a few extra days to reach St Paul Island, though I can't figure out why this is-seems backwards). 

The next island to the east of Shemya, Attu, supposedly had a record low of -5F on March 21 1985.   St Paul Island recorded a -2F a few days later, so this seems to be legit(?).      For Attu, WRCC does show one reading of -15F on November 27 1986, but this does not seem legit.  All the other stations in the area were 30-40 degrees warmer, which on a small oceanic island doesn't make sense.   St Paul Island was 24F that day, but dropped to 15F a few days later.   Maybe an erroneous minus sign got placed in from of the 15 for Attu?   Shemya, on the island next to Attu only got down to 27F.

 

(PS, if you are interested, St Paul Island did record a -26F in January 1919, supposedly at the same location, but the current NOAA site only list records back to 1948).  

 

For that whole region around the southern Bering Sea, April isn't much warmer than the winter months:

 

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak8419

 

Farther north, Cape Romanzof, on the mainland coast of the Bering Sea has a record low on March 15 1966.  This one is not suspect.   If the Shemya and Attu readings aren't correct, this may be the latest record low outside Hawaii?

 

A lot of stations on the Bering Sea have their record lows in March and March is colder than January up in the northern latitudes of the Bering Sea. 

 

 

Scott, you might appreciate this. I found the monthly records for Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. All-time record low in April at this station (-16.9 C/ 2 F on 4/1/1968). Same dynamics as the Aleutians here, with the coldest minimums dependent on sea ice.

 

http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=430

[wx_statman]

Here's a bit of weather trivia - it snowed 28.7 cm (11.3") on this date in 1962 at Dease Lake, BC. This town is located in the NW BC interior at an elevation of 2,646 feet. The July 1, 1962 snowfall in this region was part of a larger-scale cold pattern that also affected the PNW. A number of monthly record lows were set in OR and WA. PDX fell to 44 on 7/2/1962, the second coldest July reading after 43 on 7/2/1955. 

 

Dease Lake data for July 1962:

 

http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C2012-11-15&dlyRange=1944-09-01%7C2011-12-15&mlyRange=1944-01-01%7C2007-02-01&StationID=1454&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2017&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&Month=7&Day=1&txtStationName=dease+lake&timeframe=2&Year=1962

[wx_statman]

It looks like Rome, OR set a new all-time record low back on January 6th with a reading of -31. Previous record was -27 on 1/18/1984. The POR at this station only extends to December 1950, missing some of the bigger cold waves of the preceding decades. Ontario hit -20 on the 7th, which was within 5 degrees of the all-time record there (back to 1955). Impressive cold wave. 

[wx_statman]

Here are the "most overdue" heat waves currently at PDX, based on calendar month:

 

• February reading above 65. None since 1995, after occurrences in 1958, 1968, 1977, 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1995. 
• August reading above 102. None since 1981, after occurrences in 1972, 1977, and 1981. 
• September reading above 95. None since 1988, after occurrences in 1944, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1981, and 1988.
• October reading above 85. None since 1991, after occurrences in 1952, 1970, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, and 1991. 

[Scott]

Scott, you might appreciate this. I found the monthly records for Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. All-time record low in April at this station (-16.9 C/ 2 F on 4/1/1968). Same dynamics as the Aleutians here, with the coldest minimums dependent on sea ice.

 

http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=430

 

Yes, very interesting.

[Scott]

Scott, you might appreciate this. I found the monthly records for Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. All-time record low in April at this station (-16.9 C/ 2 F on 4/1/1968). Same dynamics as the Aleutians here, with the coldest minimums dependent on sea ice.

 

http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/index.php?page=stati&id=430

 

As a related question, as far as I know the latest in the spring season that the coldest day of the year was recorded in the lower 48 almost surely belongs to Fort Bragg California on 5/24/1965. It has an official reading of 29 for that date, though I do wonder how accurate it is.  

 

That same year, Crescent City also recorded a 34 in 5/6/1965, which was only 4 degrees away from the coldest reading of the year.  Crescent City had its coldest day of the year on 4/1/1945 and 4/1/1976 and April readings have gotten close to the coldest day of the year in several other years.

 

Both San Francisco Downtown and Napa have gotten very close to the coldest day of the year in the middle of May.   On 5/16/1906, San Francisco City was 42, only 2 degrees away from the coldest reading of the year.  More recently, on 5/10/2003, San Francisco City was 43, only three degrees above the lowest reading of the year.  On 5/18/1974 Napa was 30, only one degree above the coldest reading of the year.

 

Point Piedras Blancas has actually gotten close to the coldest reading of the year on 8/18/1954!  Only a few days in February and September were colder.  In other years, June and July have come pretty close to the coldest readings of the year as well.   Several Mays have days very close to the coldest of the year.  Nearby Big Sur has recorded the coldest day of the year in April several times.

 

On the flip side, LAX has recorded it's highest reading of the year with a 91 on 1/31/2003.  Other early hottest days of the year at LAX were on 2/7/1954, 2/4/2001, and 2/21/2002.  On occasion Sand Diego has also seen the hottest day of the year in February

 

San Diego, Long Beach, and LAX have both seen the hottest day of the year in November.  In San Diego 13 out of the last 116 years had the highest reading in November, a rather remarkable 11% of the years.  The latest hottest day of the year in San Diego was on 11/24/1932.

 

Point Piedras Blancas had its highest temperature of the year with an 85 on 12/6/1959, which is one of the highest temperatures ever recorded there, exceeded only by a few days in October. 

[wx_statman]

As a related question, as far as I know the latest in the spring season that the coldest day of the year was recorded in the lower 48 almost surely belongs to Fort Bragg California on 5/24/1965. It has an official reading of 29 for that date, though I do wonder how accurate it is.  

 

That same year, Crescent City also recorded a 34 in 5/6/1965, which was only 4 degrees away from the coldest reading of the year.  Crescent City had its coldest day of the year on 4/1/1945 and 4/1/1976 and April readings have gotten close to the coldest day of the year in several other years.

 

One example that I can think of right away is April 13, 1968. North Bend (OTH) recorded 28 degrees, which was the lowest reading of the year. This was part of a record cold late-season airmass that also produced 23 degrees in Salem (monthly record) and an 8" snowfall in Everett on the 12th. The latter is the heaviest single-day lowland snowfall that I'm aware of in the PNW. 

 

Santiam Pass had a low of 4 on April 19, 1967. This was the lowest temperature recorded that year. Part of the same airmass that brought 9.6" of snow to Bend on the 17th (heaviest late season snowfall on record), followed by a ridiculously late -14 in Havre on the 22nd (monthly record).

 

OTH recorded its warmest temperature of the year on February 25, 1992, with a high of 82 degrees. 

[Scott]

One example that I can think of right away is April 13, 1968. North Bend (OTH) recorded 28 degrees, which was the lowest reading of the year. This was part of a record cold late-season airmass that also produced 23 degrees in Salem (monthly record) and an 8" snowfall in Everett on the 12th. The latter is the heaviest single-day lowland snowfall that I'm aware of in the PNW. 

 

Santiam Pass had a low of 4 on April 19, 1967. This was the lowest temperature recorded that year. Part of the same airmass that brought 9.6" of snow to Bend on the 17th (heaviest late season snowfall on record), followed by a ridiculously late -14 in Havre on the 22nd (monthly record).

 

OTH recorded it warmest temperature of the year on February 25, 1992, with a high of 82 degrees. 

 

Looking at some other stations on the Oregon coast, here are some more I found:

 

Brookings 2SE:   Coldest reading of the year on 4/30/1933 at 28 (April has gotten very close to the coldest day of the year on many occasions).

 

Cape Blanco:  Coldest reading of the year on 4/28/1975 with 25.

 

Newport:  Coldest reading of the year on 4/8/1893 (may not be valid as 1893 does seem to have a lot of weird readings)

 

On the flip side, Honeyman (OR) saw its coldest day on the year on 10/18/1999.   Several stations in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington saw their coldest day of the year in October 2002.   This was true of big cities and small towns.   Spokane saw its coldest reading in October.   Boise missed it by 1 degree.

[wx_statman]

Looking at some other stations on the Oregon coast, here are some more I found:

 

Brookings 2SE:   Coldest reading of the year on 4/30/1933 at 28 (April has gotten very close to the coldest day of the year on many occasions).

 

Cape Blanco:  Coldest reading of the year on 4/28/1975 with 25.

 

Newport:  Coldest reading of the year on 4/8/1893 (may not be valid as 1893 does seem to have a lot of weird readings)

 

On the flip side, Honeyman (OR) saw its coldest day on the year on 10/18/1999.   Several stations in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington saw their coldest day of the year in October 2002.   This was true of big cities and small towns.   Spokane saw its coldest reading in October.   Boise missed it by 1 degree.

 

Yeah, October 2002 was a pretty outstanding example on a regional scale. 

[DareDuck]

Santiam Pass had a low of 4 on April 19, 1967. This was the lowest temperature recorded that year. Part of the same airmass that brought 9.6" of snow to Bend on the 17th (heaviest late season snowfall on record), followed by a ridiculously late -14 in Havre on the 22nd (monthly record).

Found this about that April in Bend. Pretty cool.

 

"After reviewing almost 80 years of Bend weather statistics, Dennis Hull, a warning coordinator meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pendleton, said 1967 took the record for the most snowfall accumulation in April, with 23.7 inches."

[wx_statman]

Syracuse, NY (POR 1902-):

 

-February 2015 was the first month on record to not rise above freezing. Monthly maximum was 32F, breaking the record of 33F set in January 1977 for lowest "monthly maximum." The previous record for February was 35F in 1924; every other February rose to at least 38F. 

 

-Fast forward to February 2017. Syracuse recorded its first 70F reading in February on record when the temperature hit 71F on the 24th, breaking the monthly record of 69F from 1981.  

[wx_statman]

The city is Brownsville Texas (106F on March 27 1984).   In that part of Texas, late winter and early spring heat waves are surprisingly common.   The hottest temperatures in much of Mexico are often recorded in the Spring and occasionally the hot air makes it as far north as Texas.

 

There are actually quite a few cities or locations in Texas where the record highs in March (and even February) aren't that far from those in summer.

 

Looks like Brownsville hit 104F on April 26th of this year. Monthly record high and second highest spring temperature behind the 3/27/1984 reading. It's funny we were just talking about this last fall.

[wx_statman]

I have:

 

Parshall, ND (112/-60)

Tower, MN (101/-60) although the 101 from 1901 may not be legit

Ft. Yukon, AK (100/-78) and I don't consider the 100 from 1915 to be legit

Maybell, CO (102/-61)

Poplar/Poplar River, MT (110/-63)

Miles City, MT (113/-65) although the -65 at Fort Keough in 1888 was most likely bogus

Border, WY (102/-60)

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Medicine Lake, MT (117/-59)

Glasgow, MT (113/-59)

Hebgen Dam, MT (99/-60)

 

I might have been too quick to dismiss the July 1901 reading from Tower, MN. I've read up on the July 1901 heat wave since I made the above post, and it looks to have been a legitimate historic heat wave in the Midwest. It's easy to initially dismiss ostentatious-looking warm readings from that era since so many thermos were not properly sheltered and the COOP obs are flooded with bad data. But July 1901 seems to have been legit. Marquette, MI saw its all-time record high of 108F in the same heat wave that brought 101F to Tower, and Duluth hit 98F a few days later. There was an ongoing drought as well which would lend credence to inflated readings due to low soil moisture, similar to what happened in the 1930s.

 

Someone actually created a wiki page on the July 1901 heat wave:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901_eastern_United_States_heat_wave

 

Apparently this was considered the most severe heat wave in the United States prior to the Dust Bowl. 

[wx_statman]

Pretty wicked retrogression in early October 1932. Salem hit 92F on 10/3 with Jacksonville at 100F on the same date, the latter being an October state record at the time for Oregon. Six days later on 10/9, Browning, MT hit -10F with Babb at -9F on the same date. Cut Bank fell from 80F on the 5th to -2F on the 9th.

[wx_statman]

From the random vault: Cle Elum, WA didn't fall below 14F during the 1925-26 cold season, a notable Nino-fueled blowtorch (only exceeded by 1966-67, which didn't fall below 15F). The following cold season, this value was exceeded in September as Cle Elum fell to 12F on 9/26/1926 - a monthly record low and 1F from the WA state record for September.

[Scott]

What is the coldest inhabited town in the US based on annual average number of nights

 

There isn't an official weather station here, but Copper Mountain (Colorado) seems like a possible contender.   I have had frost every single morning since staying here.   It is in more of bowl type location than other nearby cold spots such as Fraser or Dillon.  The past few days Fraser has been 37 and Dillon was 34 and 35.  Since I have been here the warmest night has been 31.

 

There is a weather station up at 12,000 feet on copper mountain, but not down in the town, which is much colder at night due to the valley bottom location.  

[wx_statman]

 

Here are the "most overdue" heat waves currently at PDX, based on calendar month:

 

• February reading above 65. None since 1995, after occurrences in 1958, 1968, 1977, 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1995. 
• August reading above 102. None since 1981, after occurrences in 1972, 1977, and 1981. 
• September reading above 95. None since 1988, after occurrences in 1944, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1981, and 1988.
• October reading above 85. None since 1991, after occurrences in 1952, 1970, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, and 1991. 

 

 

Well, we can knock August off this list after the last couple days. 

 

September and October next??

[BLI snowman]

Well, we can knock August off this list after the last couple days. 

 

September and October next??

 

1988 repeat incoming.

[wx_statman]

1988 repeat incoming.

 

I would be fine with either 1987 or 1988.

[BLI snowman]

I would be fine with either 1987 or 1988.

 

I'd like to see another fall with dramatic temp swings. The last couple have been a little too monotonous overall.

[Front Ranger]

I'd like to see another fall with dramatic temp swings. The last couple have been a little too monotonous overall.

 

2008-10 was a pretty nice run. Last solar min...

[wx_statman]

I'd like to see another fall with dramatic temp swings. The last couple have been a little too monotonous overall.

 

We'll have to see a fall without a record warm month at some point as well. Been since 2013...