Extreme Weather

Here's some stats from Christopher C. Burt's Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book.


Hottest Major U.S. Cities (1970-2000 average)

Key West, FL 78.0
Honolulu, HI 77.5
Miami, FL 76.6
Ft. Lauderdale 75.7
West Palm Beach, FL 75.3
Ft. Myers, FL 74.9
Yuma, AZ 74.6
Hilo, HI 74.1
St. Petersburg, FL 74.1
Brownsville, TX 74.0
Phoenix, AZ 73.9
Palm Springs, CA 73.8
Laredo, TX 73.7
Orlando, FL 72.7
Corpus Christi, TX 72.1


Hottest Major U.S. Cities (Average Max. July Temp., 1970-2000)

Palm Springs, CA 108.3
Yuma, AZ 107.0 (hit 124 in July 1995)
Phoenix, AZ 106.0
Las Vegas, NV 104.1
Tuscon, AZ 101.0
Presidio, TX 100.6
Laredo, TX 100.5
Redding, CA 99.5
Bakersfield, CA 98.2
Fresno, CA 98.1
Wichita Falls, TX 97.6
Waco, TX 96.7
Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX 96.3
Del Rio, TX 96.2
El Paso, TX 95.5

(Key West, while the hottest overall with average temperature, only hit 100 once in 120 years, in August of 1886)


Death Valley hit 134 in July 10, 1913; hit 129 in July of 1960 and 1998


Fairfield is warmest location in Ohio (based on average daily July temperature) at 88.1
Gilbertsville Dam is Kentucky's at 93.6 and Evansville is Indiana's at 90.5


Highest temperature recorded in Ohio was 113 in Gallipolis on July 21, 1934
Kentucky: 114 at Greensburg on July 28, 1930; Indiana's 116 at Collegeville on July 14, 1936
North Dakota: 121 at Steele on July 6, 1936 and South Dakota was 120 in Gannvalley the day before
Alaska: 100 at Ft. Yukon on June 27, 1915
Florida:109 in Monticello on June 29, 1931


The heat wave of 1936 was the worst in U.S. history with 15 states hitting record-breaking temperatures (although the heat wave that is thought to have destroyed the Anasazi Indians in the 13th century was even worse).


Least range of temperature between minimum and maximum temperature

Farallon Island, CA - 43 degrees (coldest recorded temp. 38 - hottest recorded temp. 81)
Honolulu, HI - 43 (52-95)
Point Piedras Blancas, CA - 56 (29-85)
Key West, FL - 59 (41-100)


Al Aziziyah, Libya 136 and Tindouf, Algeria are the only two places with higher recorded temperatures than Death Valley


Hottest By Continent

Africa: Al Aziziyah, Libya 136
North America: Death Valley ,134 (Mexico's hottest was 120)
Asia: Tirat Tsvi, Israel, 129
Australia: Cloncurry, 128
Europe: Riodades, Portugal, 123
South America: Villa de Maria, Argentina, 120.4
Antartica: Vanda Station, 58.3
South Pole: 7.5
North Pole: 39

Greatest range of temperature in American cities

Fort Yukon, AK: 178 degrees(coldest -78 - hottest 100)
Medicine Lake, MT: 175 (-58 - 117)


15 Coldest Cities in U.S. (average temperatures 1970-2000)

Fairbanks, AK 26.7
Anchorage, AK 36.2
International Falls, MN 37.4
Duluth, MN 39.1
Caribou, ME 39.2
Butte, MT 39.5
Sault. Ste. Marie, MI 40.1
Grand Forks, ND 40.3
Alamosa, CO 40.8
Williston, ND 40.9
Juneau, AK 41.5
Fargo, ND 41.5
St. Cloud, MN 41.8
Bismarck, ND 42.3
Kalispell, MT 42.6

15 Coldest Cities (Average January Min. Temp., 1970-2000)

Fairbanks, AK -19.0
International Falls, MN -8.4
Grand Forks, ND -4.3
Alamosa, CO -3.7
Williston, ND -3.3
Fargo, ND -2.3
St. Cloud, MN -1.2
Duluth, MN -1.2
Bismarck, ND -0.6
Caribou, ME -0.3
Aberdeen, SD 0.6
Eau Claire, WI 2.5
Huron, SD 3.5
Wausau, WI 3.6
Rochester, MN 3.7

Ohio's coldest place (average of daily Min. Jan. Temps.) is Paulding (around Toledo) at 13.9
Kentucky's is Ashland at 19; Indiana is Lowell at 12.1; California's is Bodie at 5.8
Florida's is De Funiak Springs, at 36.7 and Hawaii is Mauna Loa at 33.7 (actually it's the average February temperature)

Coldest recorded place

Ohio - Milligan at -39 in February 10, 1899
Kentucky - Shelbyville at -37 on January 19, 1994; Indiana - New Whitehead at -36 on the same day
Alaska - Prospect Creek Camp at -80 on January 23, 1971

Coldest recorded temperature in World

Antarctica, Vostok: -128.6
Asia, Verkhoyansk, Russia: -90 (Coldest recorded in Singapore is 66)
North America: Snag, Yukon, Canada -81.4 (Mexico's was 5 at Chihuahua
Europe: Ust'Shchugor -67
South America: Pato Superior Valley, Argentina -38 (Panama's was 63)
Africa: Ifrane, Morocco -11 (Djibouti's was 61)
Australia: Charlotte Pass -9.4


Worst cold wave in U.S. history was February 1899 (temperatures were below zero in every state in the Union), three inches of snow fell on New Orleans. Incidentally that same year the lowest number of beads exchanged hands than any year on record.


Wettest and Driest

Ohio - Middlebourne 30.44 and Cincinnati Fernbank 47.54
Kentucky - Wheelersburg 38.28 and Closplint 58.92
Indiana - Monroeville 33.74 and English 49.72
California - Cow Creek 1.60 and Honeydew 104.18
Florida - Key West 38.94 and Milton Experiment St. 69.48
Hawaii - Waikoloa Beach Resort - 6.81 and Mt. Waialeale, Kauai 460.00

Most at risk major cities to tornadoes

1.Oklahoma City
2.Dallas-Ft. Worth
3.Lubbock
4.Kansas City, MI
5.Indianapolis
6.St. Louis
7.Jackson, Mississippi/Birmingham, Alabama
8.Little Rock
9.Omaha
10.Chicago (although never hit directly by a major tornado)

Most at risk for Hurricanes

(15%-16% of a hurricane with 125 mph winds per year)
1.Key West to Palm Beach, Florida
2.Galveston, TX to Louisiana border
(13-14%)
3.Mississipi Delta of Louiisana to Walton Beach, Florida
4.Outer banks of N.C. south of Nags Head (11-12%)


Cincinnati's hottest temperature was 109 (July 21,1934) and coldest -25 (January 19, 1977) the coldest month was January 1977 (12.0) and warmest month was July 1901 (82.5) but hottest summer was 1932 (78.8); 20.0 inches of snow from 1-14-1863 to 1-15; 31.5 of January 1978, 53.9 of winter of 77-78,

More here