Hot and Cold: The All-Time Highest (and Lowest) Recorded Temperatures in Each State

You don’t have to be a budding meteorologist to find extreme temperature swings fascinating. In October 2019, Denver made headlines when residents saw a 64-degree fluctuation—from 83 degrees down to 19—inside of a single day. Joggers went from spandex shorts to heavy sweatshirts.

Temperature changes can get even more dramatic when you take a look at the historical record of weather in each state. Recently, media outlet Stacker compiled data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to break down the highest and lowest recorded Fahrenheit temperatures through 2021. You may be surprised how warm (and how cold) your local climate has gotten.

State	Highest	Lowest
Alabama	112 F (1925)	-27 F (1966)
Alaska	100 F (1915)	-80 F (1971)
Arizona	128 F (1994)	-40 F (1971)
Arkansas	120 F (1936)	-29 F (1905)
California	134 F (1913)	-45 F (1937)
Colorado	115 F (2019)	-61 F (1985)
Connecticut	106 F (1916)	-32 F (1943)
Delaware	110 F (1930)	-17 F (1893)
Florida	109 F (1931)	-2 F (1899)
Georgia	112 F (1983)	-17 F (1940)
Hawaii	100 F (1931)	12 F (1979)
Idaho	118 F (1934)	-60 F (1943)
Illinois	117 F (1954)	-38 F (2019)
Indiana	116 F (1936)	-36 F (1994)
Iowa	118 F (1934)	-47 F (1996)
Kansas	121 F (1936)	-40 F (1905)
Kentucky	114 F (1930)	-37 F (1994)
Louisiana	114 F (1936)	-16 F (1899)
Maine	105 F (1911)	-50 F (2009)
Maryland	109 F (1918)	-40 F (1912)
Massachusetts	107 F (1975)	-35 F (1943)
Michigan	112 F (1936)	-51 F (1934)
Minnesota	115 F (1917)	-60 F (1996)
Mississippi	115 F (1930)	-19 F (1966)
Missouri	118 F (1954)	-40 F (1905)
Montana	117 F (1893)	-70 F (1954)
Nebraska	118 F (1934)	-47 F (1989)
Nevada	125 F (1994)	-50 F (1937)
New Hampshire	106 F (1911)	-50 F (1885)
New Jersey	110 F (1936)	-34 F (1904)
New Mexico	122 F (1994)	-50 F (1951)
New York	108 F (1926)	-52 F (1979)
North Carolina	110 F (1983)	-34 F (1985)
North Dakota	121 F (1936)	-60 F (1936)
Ohio	113 F (1934)	-39 F (1899)
Oklahoma	120 F (1936)	-31 F (2011)
Oregon	119 F (1898 and 2021)	-54 F (1933)
Pennsylvania	111 F (1936)	-42 F (1904)
Rhode Island	104 F (1975)	-28 F (1942)
South Carolina	113 F (2012)	-19 F (1985)
South Dakota	120 F (2006)	-58 F (1936)
Tennessee	113 F (1930)	-32 F (1917)
Texas	120 F (1936)	-23 F (1899)
Utah	117 F (1985)	-50 F (1913)
Vermont	107 F (1912)	-50 F (1933)
Virginia	110 F (1954)	-30 F (1985)
Washington	120 F (2021)	-48 F (1968)
West Virginia	112 F (1930)	-37 F (1917)
Wisconsin	114 F (1936)	-55 F (1996)
Wyoming	115 F (1983)	-66 F (1933)

You’ll notice that 11 states broke their heat record during one specific year: 1936. That’s attributable to a notorious heat wave that swept the country as a result of droughts and poor land management in the Plains, which led to a lack of vegetation and drier conditions.

The data also doesn’t reflect wind chill. Factoring that in, the coldest day in the U.S. wasn’t Alaska’s -80°F freeze in 1971. It was atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire in February 2023, when you could enjoy a brisk climb at -108°F.