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Legitimate 120 Degree Readings Outside of Desert Southwest


erik1974

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California

    120 at Orland on 7/8/1905(8/7/1908 reading is suspect)

    120 at Coalinga on 7/18/1925

    120 at Middlewater on 8/15/1920

    120 at San Jacinto on 7/27/1934

    121 at Red Bluff on 8/7/1981

    120 at Chino AP on 7/6/2018

     (120 reading at Henshaw Dam on 7/29/1980 is laughably dubious)

     (124 and 120 readings in 1931 at Westhaven are dubious)

 

Texas

    120 at Seymour on 8/12/1936

    120 at Monahans on 6/28/1994

 

Arkansas

    120 at Ozark on 8/10/1936

 

Oklahoma

    120 at Alva on 7/18/1936

    120 at Altus on 7/19/1936

    120 at Poteau on 8/10/1936

    120 at Altus on 8/12/1936

    120 at Tipton 6/27/1994(unofficial reading??, seems legit though)

    (120 reading at Tishomingo on 7/22/1943 is highly dubious)

 

Kansas

    121 at Fredonia on 7/18/1936

    120 at Eureka on 7/18/1936

    120 at Wellington on 7/18/1936

    121 at Alton on 7/24/1936

    120 at Philipsburg on 7/24/1936

    120 at Fort Scott on 7/13 and 7/14/1954

 

    (120 at Lakin on 7/29/1893 is very questionable)

 

South Dakota

    120 at Gannvalley on 7/5/1936

    120 at Usta on 7/15/2006

    120 at Fort Pierre on 7/15/2006

 

North Dakota

    121 at Steele on 7/6/1936

    120 at Wishek on 7/6/1936

 

New Mexico

    122 at Waste Isoltion PP on 6/27/1994 is overexposed by 4-6 degrees.  Real record for state is 118 at Ochoa on same date.

 

Let me know what you all think...

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I'm not an expert on digging this stuff up, but I do appreciate it. Nice job on this. 

I've heard some say that the Chino reading this year may have been too high. 

Winter 23-24: Total Snow (3.2")    Total Ice (0.2")     Coldest Low: 1F     Coldest High: 5F

Snow Events: 0.1" Jan 5th, 0.2" Jan 9th, 1.6" Jan 14, 0.2" (ice) Jan 22, 1.3" Feb 12

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I'm not an expert on digging this stuff up, but I do appreciate it. Nice job on this. 

 

I've heard some say that the Chino reading this year may have been too high. 

         I have wondered about the Chino reading myself.  Their readings during various heatwaves in the last few years have been higher than some other stations which typically get hotter(such as Riverside, etc.)  Chino is not what I would call a hotspot when compared to Riverside, San Bernardino or Redlands.  I believe the 120 reading on 7/6/2018 is slightly overexposed.   I also think that the 117 reading at Ramona is a bit overexposed as well.  

        Despite this, there were some phenomenal records such as the record-tying 118 at Riverside, all-time records of 114 at Santa Ana/Burbank as well as a phenomenal 111 at UCLA.  Very comparable to the 7/22/2006 event though nowhere near as humid.  

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Yikes..1936 is to summers as 1899 is to winters.

 

Yes, but perhaps even more impressive, all the areas affected by the 1936 Heat Wave were also affected by the 1936 Cold Wave the same year.  Some locations were around 170 degrees warmer in July than they were in February!

 

Here are the the average temperatures in February 1936.  North Dakota averaged -14.1.   Lows in North Dakota reached -60 and -58 in South Dakota.  

 

February_1936_US_Temperature.gif

 

February never got above 10 in some locations.  Landon North Dakota stayed below zero all day for 41 days.  

 

Rivers were frozen over as far south as Richmond Virginia.

 

Noteworthy facts from Christopher C Burt concerning the 1936 cold wave
 
Langdon, ND became famous for it’s cold during the remarkable and worst Plains winter in recorded history. The small North Dakota town went an incredible 41 straight days without reaching 0F, longest such stretch anywhere in the Lower 48. Langdon also went 92 straight days without reaching 32F and consecutive nights below 0F? 67 days!
 
Fort Berthold Agency, ND went 7 straight days with highs of -20F or lower and 2 weeks with highs of -10F or colder. Turtle Lake, ND saw a mean temperature of -19.4F in February, the lowest mean temperature for a month recorded anywhere in the Lower 48.
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Yes, but perhaps even more impressive, all the areas affected by the 1936 Heat Wave were also affected by the 1936 Cold Wave the same year.  Some locations were around 170 degrees warmer in July than they were in February!

 

Here are the the average temperatures in February 1936.  North Dakota averaged -14.1.   Lows in North Dakota reached -60 and -58 in South Dakota.  

 

February never got above 10 in some locations.  Landon North Dakota stayed below zero all day for 41 days.  

 

Rivers were frozen over as far south as Richmond Virginia.

 

Noteworthy facts from Christopher C Burt concerning the 1936 cold wave
 
Langdon, ND became famous for it’s cold during the remarkable and worst Plains winter in recorded history. The small North Dakota town went an incredible 41 straight days without reaching 0F, longest such stretch anywhere in the Lower 48. Langdon also went 92 straight days without reaching 32F and consecutive nights below 0F? 67 days!
 
Fort Berthold Agency, ND went 7 straight days with highs of -20F or lower and 2 weeks with highs of -10F or colder. Turtle Lake, ND saw a mean temperature of -19.4F in February, the lowest mean temperature for a month recorded anywhere in the Lower 48.

 

 

That month was pretty ridiculous. Bozeman recorded its coldest temp on record at -43F and averaged an astounding -22.5F departure on the month. Frigid.

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Cold Season 2023/24:

Total snowfall: 26"

Highest daily snowfall: 5"

Deepest snow depth: 12"

Coldest daily high: -20ºF

Coldest daily low: -42ºF

Number of subzero days: 5

Personal Weather Station on Wunderground: 

https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KMTBOZEM152#history

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I recall the 1994 summer temps. In Texas. It was pure punishment.

 

Monahans is in west Texas, but that summer was memorable statewide.

Before You Diagnose Yourself With Depression or Low Self-Esteem,...First Make Sure You Are Not In Fact, Just Surrounded By A$$holes.

“If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.”  Gen. Sheridan 1866

2018 Rainfall - 62.65" High Temp. - 110.03* Low Temp. - 8.4*

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  • 2 years later...

     UPDATE:

The Sept. 5 and 6 heatwave has produced a couple more 120+ readings in SoCal.

I will start off by saying that the 120 and 121 readings at Chino AP are certainly overexposed.  I believe this station and Ontario are considered unofficial by the NWS.

There are bonafide legit readings of 121 at Woodland Hills and 120 at Cachuma Lake on the 6th.  These are unquestionably the highest recorded temps in both LA and Santa Barbara counties.  It is too bad that there is no recording anymore at El Capitan Dam in SD County.  That location could have very well reached 119-121 on the 5th or 6th!!

So, the highest temperatures outside the desert SW are a total of 5 official 121 readings including:

121 at Woodland Hills, CA         9/6/2020

121 at Red Bluff, CA                    8/7/1981

121 at Alton, KS                        7/24/1936

121 at Fredonia, KS                   7/18/1936

121 at Steele, ND                        7/6/1936

 

Let me know what you all think...

 

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