erik1974

I have been thinking about this alot recently and have been wondering... What are some all-time and/or monthly temperature extremes, etc. that will most likely never be broken?? I have a few very strong candidates myself: 121 degrees at Steele, ND on 7/6/1936 116 at Collegeville, IN on 7/14/1936 112 at Mio, MI on 7/13/1936 121 at Red Bluff, CA on 8/5/1981 119 at Willow Creek, CA 7/14/1972 -53 at Lincoln 14NE, MT on 11/16/1959 -37 at Shelbyville, KY on 1/19/1994 -27 at New Market, AL on 1/30/1966 The May 1934 Upper Midwest Freak Heat Wave actually deserves its own section altogether... Please feel free to chime in!!

Thanks for the info WxStatsman! Will be checking out various states east of Rockies for dubious readings in the next few weeks.

We seem to have Alaska pretty well settled now. Someome asked about Montana, so here is my version: Jan 79 1919 Choteau -60 1963 West Yellowstone (-70 at Rogers Pass in 1954 is questionable) Feb 79 1932 Columbus -66 1933 West Yellowstone Mar 88 1910 Miles City -45 1906, 1897 Fort Logan, Glasgow Apr 97 1980, 1939 Poplar, Winfried -30 1935 Summit May 105 1937 Rock Springs -5 1954 Polebridge June 112 2002, 1988 Baker, Wolf Point 11 1943 Kings Hill July 117 1937 Medicine Lake 15 1919 Bowen Aug 112 1961 Iliad 5 1910 Bowen Sept 107 2003, 1983, 1950 Ridgway, Poplar, Jordan/Garland -9 1926 West Yellowstone Oct 99 2011, 1910 Melstone, Springbrook -30 1935 Summit Nov 85 1975 Grassrange -53 1959 Lincoln 14NE Dec 78 1939 Crow Agency/Grassrange -59 1924 West Yellowstone The 117 reading at Medicine Lake has been questioned recently. It may or may not be legit. What about 117 degree reading at Glendive in 1893??

Thanks for the info Scott. I will add to my list.

Those three -30 readings that you mentioned above are all certainly legit and credible. I cant find anything else either. There is also a -33 reading at Gate Park, Montana on 4/2/2002. It is either a RAWS or SNOTEL station. Not sure if this reading would be considered official though...

I am glad I managed to plead my case for the -34 at Bergland being on 3/31 rather than on 4/1. I didn't think anyone agreed with me at all. Thank you so much for going and checking through the data and posting it on here Wx_Statsman! It means a lot - trying to find the 'true' extremes for each month in each state. I am still trying to find the 'real' lows for July and August. Any ideas on those??

Thank you so much for the list and the explanation. I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the info. Wx_Statsman. Are these RAWS or COOP readings??

I think both readings are certainly legit. The 107 at Houghton Lake occurred on 6/1/1934. Points east of Lake Michigan(MI, IN) actually had their highest temps on 6/1 not 5/31. For example, Collegeville, Indiana holds the May record for the state at 103 on 5/31/1934. The next day, it hit 109 on 6/1/1934. If the heatwave was a day earlier, these two states would have shattered their old records just like other states did on 5/31. The Fife Lake reading of -45 in 1943 is legit as well. Roscommon hit -43 with Cadillac and Vanderbilt coming in both at -39. Several other stations were well under -30 on the Northern LP. The 25 degree reading in July 1898 for Baldwin is the most legit reading I can find for that month. There was a 22 reading at Seney at 1912, but it seems too cold. The next coldest reading was 29. The 20 degree readings at Wetmore and Baraga in 1903 are completely bogus. I am not entirely sure about what the true August low might be. The 21 degree reading at Baraga seems too low even though there was a legitimate cold wave. In fact, a lot of their summer readings are ridiculously low. Very little to no credibility for that station IMO. There was a 22 at Cornell in 1976, though it seems a little bit too cold. There is also a 23 reading at Dukes in 1934, which seems very credible to me. The 17 degrees in Champion in 1998 is definitely the coldest June temp. in Michigan. The 12 reading at Humboldt in 1897 is dubious. There was a cold snap on the first couple days of 6/1897, but its shows the 12 reading happened in the middle of the month. I think there was even a warm spell on those same days. Maybe it was a data input error... As for the April record high, there was originally a reading of 96 at Seney in 1915. ​ ​I definitely think the thermometer was overexposed during this period there. There is also a 95 at Harrissville(also in 1915) on the Northern LP on the shores of Lake Huron. This one is a bit more believable as there were a few 90+ reading in the area during that time. If the 95 reading is also not legit, there is a 94 reading in Alberta in the UP in 1980 and another 94 somewhere else(I forgot the station). Just trying to clarify a confusing situation with this complex state...

I have always had a huge curiousity for monthly extremes from Michigan. It is a very strange beast indeed. Here is my list of credible ​extremes for MI: Jan 72 1950 Ann Arbor -48 1915 Humboldt Feb 72 2000, 1999 Dowagiac, Three Rivers/Holland/Battle Creek -51 1934 Vanderbilt Mar 89 1910 Lapeer -45 1943 Fife Lake Apr 95 1915 Harrisville -30 1923 Humboldt(I still believe the -34 at Bergland occurred on 3/31 not 4/1) May 100 1934, 1895 Ironwood/Iron River/Iron Mtn, Berrien Sprs 8 1966 Fife Lake June 107 1934 Houghton Lake 6SW 17 1998 Champion July 112 1936 Mio/Stanwood 25 1898 Baldwin Aug 108 1918 Morenci/Mount Pleasant 22 1976 Cornell Sept 104 1954, 1913 Wayne, Adrian 9 1942 Watersmeet Oct 94 1922, 1897 St. Joseph, Mottville -3 1905 Humboldt Nov 84 1950 Wayne -23 1950 Pellston Dec 72 2001 Three Rivers/Dowagiac -41 1983 Iron River ​ This is definitely one of the most complex of all the states I have tried, and the most interesting!! Feel free to chime in. The Highs are pretty easy. The Lows are much more complex...

Vinita hit -27 in 1905 then Watts in 1930. Guthrie supposedly did it in 1947. Then finally the -31 at Nowata.

I heard on another forum that Mangum reached 99 in 2017(Great February 2017 heatwave east of the Rockies) to tie the previous record from 1918. There was also what I consider to be a bogus 114 reading at Weatherford in May 2000. Most of the stations around Weatherford were in the 100-105 range, but the SW corner of the state(Altus/Frederick) was where the 110-112 readings actually occurred. That's why I listed the 112 at Altus rather than the 114 at Weatherford as the true May record.

The 109 at Victoria is definitely bogus. I did not realize that the 1902 reading at Rio Grande City were bogus though. If so, then the highest credible Feb. temperatures are 103 at Laredo in 1986 and again in 2011 as well as the 2017 reading at Rio Grande City. The -27 at Guthrie does seem a bit funny, but Kansas hit -35 that month to set their January low. Not entirely sure if it is legit.

And to think, I haven't even started reporting my monthly extremes on the states east of the Rockies. I will doing the plains states very soon followed by the upper Midwest and more. Oh BTW, here is my list for Texas and Oklahoma: Texas Jan 98 1997, 1914 Zapata, Laredo -22 1959 Spearman Feb 104 1902 Rio Grande City -23 1933, 1899 Seminole, Tulia Mar 108 1954, 1902 Rio Grande City -14 1948 Spearman Apr 113 1984 Catarina 5 1936 Romero May 116 2003/2001, 1989 Heath Canyon, Boquillas 15 1919 Tulia June 120 1994 Monahans 32 1917 Tulia July 119 1910 Tilden 40 1906 Claytonville Aug 120 1936 Seymour 39 1910 Plemons Sept 116 2000 Colombus 25 1983 Bravo Oct 108 2000, 1977 Paducah 15S, Aspermont 8 1993 Dalhart/Stratford Nov 102 1988 McAllen AP -10 1976 Stratford Dec 98 1951 Cotulla AP, Carrizo Springs -16 1983 Lipscomb Oklahoma Jan 92 1911 Cloud Chief/Weatherford -27 1947, 1930 Guthrie, Watts Feb 99 2017, 1918 Mangum 5SE, Arapaho -31 2011 Nowata Mar 104 1971 Frederick -18 1948 Kenton Apr 106 1972 Mangum 6 1936 Boise City May 112 2000 Altus 19 1909 Hooker June 120 1994 Tipton 34 1919 Kenton July 120 1936 Altus/Alva 41 1915 Goodwell Aug 120 1936 Altus/Poteau 38 1915 Bartlesville Sept 115 1947, 1939 Alva 25 1985 Boise City Oct 106 2000 Hollis 6 1993 Kenton Nov 95 1914 Mutual -15 1976 Kenton Dec 92 1951 Ardmore -19 1932 Goodwell Any comments or corrections from y'all will be greatly appreciated once again...

That is a pretty crazy one. I cant believe they didn't edit it out right away. Lots of initially bogus info that we are only beginning to discover...

The 100 reading at Pahala, Hawaii comes to mind. In the climate report, I think it was given a missing or NA or null value, but it was somehow interpreted to be 100 degrees! Christopher C Burt did an article on it some years ago. The 134 at Death Valley in 1913 now comes to mind as the next highest station was 15 degrees cooler and no station out west recorded their highest temps in July 1913. I still cant believe its on the books even to this day. Hopefully it will get delisted in the future. The 119 degree reading at Prineville in July 1898 is another. The next highest readings there are 12 degrees cooler!! The 119 in August 1898 at Pendleton at least seems plausible though questionable. The -70 at Rogers Pass now seems very suspicious. I wonder if it could be a data input error? There are only three -60 temps legitimately recorded in January(not including Rogers Pass), but there are at least ten -60 readings in February which raises more red flags. How ironic that the highest/lowest temps ever recorded in the Lower 48 now have almost no credibility under scrutiny...

Sounds pretty good. I always wondered about the June 1896 heatwave, now it seems like it wasn't such a big deal. I think there was a 121 degree reading at Palm Springs which might be the highest legit reading. As for the AZ state record, I still think that the 127 in July 1905 is very likely legit as Indio was 125 and Imperial were 124 that day along with several 120+ readings in AZ. It is also possible that Death Valley could have legitimately reached 130 degrees on that day. Just my opinion.

So if the 128 reading in June at Lake Havasu is disqualified, the next highest June reading would be 127 at Fort Mojave on June 15, 1896. Anybody out there think that the reading is legit??

There was a 127 degree reading at Fort Mojave(north of Bullhead) on June 15, 1896. It was 126 at Parker on the same date. It may be legitimate. I'm not sure if I would outright dismiss the 128 reading at Lake Havasu. That is a tough choice to make.

Here is my personal list for Arizona: Jan 90 2000, 1971 Organ Pipe, Tucson WFO -40 1971 Hawley Lake Feb 97 1986 Yuma AP/Casa Grande -37 1985 Flagstaff 4SW Mar 104 2004 Yuma-Depot -26 1966 Maverick Apr 110 1980, 1910 Gila Bend -16 1980 Hawley Lake May 121 1910 Quartzsite/Gila Bend 4 1964 Pinon June 128 1994 Lake Havasu City 13 1971, 1954 Alpine, Maverick July 127 1905 Parker 25 1997/1987, 1962 Flagstaff 4SW, Maverick Aug 124 1933 Quartzsite/Parker 20 1968 Fort Valley Sept 123 1950 Yuma AP 11 1934, 1912 Williams, Fort Valley Oct 114 1980 Gila Bend -9 1971 Fort Valley Nov 100 2009, 1931 Sacaton, Granite Reef Dam -30 1931 Fort Defiance Dec 91 1939 Florence -36 1990 Flagstaff 4SW ​ I made some adjustments. Any arguments will be greatly appreciated once again. ​I edited out the 113 in April at Parker, 116 in October at Sentinel and 92 in Dec. at Bouse. Lets see just who agrees with me...

Here is my list of credible extremes in New Mexico: Jan 88 1953, 1911 Pearl, Carlsbad -47 1971, 1962 Eagle Nest Feb 92 1902 Carlsbad -50 1951 Gavilan Mar 99 1946 Roswell -34 1948 Eagle Nest Apr 102 2012, 1965 Roswell FAA, Jal -21 1945 Eagle Nest May 110 2000, 1896 Bitter Lakes/Carlsbad AP, Hatch -2 1967 Eagle Nest June 118 1994 Ochoa 12 1946 Elizabethtown July 116 1934 Orogrande 23 1955 Gavilan Aug 111 1934 Nara Vista/Obar 23 1968, 1944 Wolf Canyon, Selsor Ranch Sept 108 1951 Jal 8 1912 Elizabethtown Oct 101 2000, 1934 Bitter Lakes, Carlsbad -15 1945 Red River Nov 93 1934, 1902 Nara Vista/Obar, Carlsbad -38 1976 Eagle Nest Dec 87 1958 Hagerman -47 1961 Dulce ​ Let me know what you all think...

Thanks again for the info. The -11 in May at Sugarloaf is a big surprise. I had no idea it got that cold there in May 2013. Do you think it is legit?

Here is my version of Colorado: Jan 84 1916 Las Animas -60 1979 Maybell Feb 89 1951 Eversoll Ranch -61 1985 Maybell Mar 96 1907 Holly -46 1943 Columbine Apr 100 1992 Las Animas -30 1970 Fraser May 107 2000 La Junta 20S -10 1896 Climax June 114 2012 Las Animas 10 1990, 1976 Climax July 114 1954, 1933 Sedgwick, Las Animas 12 1995 Climax Aug 112 1938, 1934 Sedgwick 15 1981, 1910 Wolf Creek Pass 1E, Fraser Sept 107 1947 Eads -2 1959 Fraser Oct 100 1910 Sheridan Lake -20 1917 Westcliffe Nov 90 1927 Holly/Wray -41 1931 Garnett Dec 85 1955 Eversoll Ranch -53 1986 Taylor Park ​ If any of this is still bogus, let me know...

Thank you so much wx_statsman!! Awesome bit of info for Wyoming for you to share. I figured the Dull Center Nov. reading of 87 was bogus, thanks for backing me up on that.