It can get pretty cold in New England, anyone who's lived here through just one winter knows that. Every winter New Englanders will experience wind chills (or the actual air temperature) below zero at some point. Sometimes, however, the temps can drop WELL below zero, like fifty below zero. Here are the coldest temperatures recorded in each New England state, as well as some interesting notes from other states coldest temps.
Interestingly, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine's all time lows are all -50 degrees. In Vermont, the temperature occurred in Bloomfield on December 30, 1933. New Hampshire hit that temperature way back on January 22, 1885 at the top of Mt. Washington. Maine dropped to -50 most recently with the low occurring on January 16, 2009 at a river gauge on the Big Black River near the Canadian border.
Southern New England's all time lows are not quite as extreme, but are still quite bone chilling. Massachusetts dropped to -35 degrees on three separate occasions, most recently January 12, 1981 in Chester. The other two -35 temps were recorded in Coldbrook (appropriate) and Taunton. Connecticut dropped to -32 degrees on January 22, 1961 and February 16, 1943 in Coventry and Falls Village respectively. Rhode Island is New England's warm spot with an all time low of -28 degrees. This occurred on January 11, 1942 in Wood River Junction.
In total, 49 of America's 50 states have all time lows below zero. The only state that has never dropped below the goose egg is Hawaii, with a low of 12. Florida, unsurprisingly, is the warmest of the continental United States, which dropped to -2 on February 3, 1899. This was during one of the most extreme arctic outbreaks in American history.
The coldest state, also unsurprisingly, is Alaska, with a low of -80, which occurred on January 23, 1971. The coldest temperature in the continental United States belongs to Montana. On January 20, 1954, the temperature dropped to -70 degrees.
Another interesting fact is that -50 is the most common all time low. Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, along with Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, all have lows at the half century below zero mark.
It's not uncommon to feel subzero temperatures in New England, but these all time lows really are next level. So next time wind chills are forecast to be 20 or 30 below zero, just remember it could be much worse. After all, these temps are actual air temperatures. Imagine what the wind chill must have felt like.
All temperature records are provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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