Growing up in Lake Wobegon, Texas, I was often told we had the most severe weather in the country. I’ve since lived in Illinois, California, Maine, Kansas, and now Colorado and I’ve been pretty impressed with the severity of the weather here. Today my kids and I were discussing the variability of our weather and we began wondering which states would have the most drastic differences between record high and low temperatures. It turns out Montana-ites? are the hardest of the hard, with a ridiculous 187° F difference between record high and low temps. Colorado comes in at a respectable 9th, with Texas coming in at 40th. Now I wonder how our states would stack up against small countries across the world.
| Rank | State | Record high (F) | Date | Record low (F) | Date | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | 117 | 07.05.1937 | -70 | 01.20.1954 | 187 |
| 2 | Utah | 117 | 07.05.1985 | -69 | 02.01.1985 | 186 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 121 | 07.06.1936 | -60 | 02.15.1936 | 181 |
| 4 | Alaska | 100 | 06.27.1915 | -80 | 01.23.1971 | 180 |
| 5 | California | 134 | 07.10.1913 | -45 | 01.20.1937 | 179 |
| 6 | Idaho | 118 | 07.28.1934 | -60 | 01.18.1943 | 178 |
| 7 | South Dakota | 120 | 04.06.2036 | -58 | 02.17.1936 | 178 |
| 8 | Wyoming | 115 | 08.08.1983 | -63 | 02.09.1933 | 178 |
| 9 | Colorado | 114 | 07.11.1954 | -61 | 02.01.1985 | 175 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 115 | 07.29.1917 | -60 | 02.02.1996 | 175 |
| 11 | Nevada | 125 | 06.29.1994 | -50 | 01.08.1937 | 175 |
| 12 | New Mexico | 122 | 06.27.1994 | -50 | 02.01.1951 | 172 |
| 13 | Oregon | 117 | 07.27.1939 | -54 | 03.31.2036 | 171 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 114 | 07.13.1936 | -55 | 02.04.1996 | 169 |
| 15 | Arizona | 128 | 06.29.1994 | -40 | 01.07.1971 | 168 |
| 16 | Washington | 118 | 04.15.2036 | -48 | 12.30.1968 | 166 |
| 17 | Iowa | 118 | 07.20.1934 | -47 | 02.28.2036 | 165 |
| 18 | Nebraska | 118 | 03.01.2036 | -47 | 03.16.2036 | 165 |
| 19 | Michigan | 112 | 07.13.1936 | -51 | 02.09.1934 | 163 |
| 20 | Kansas | 121 | 03.01.2036 | -40 | 02.13.1905 | 161 |
| 21 | New York | 109 | 07.22.1926 | -52 | 03.23.2036 | 161 |
| 22 | Missouri | 118 | 03.13.2036 | -40 | 02.13.1905 | 158 |
| 23 | Maine | 105 | 03.05.2036 | -50 | 01.16.2009 | 155 |
| 24 | Vermont | 105 | 07.04.1911 | -50 | 12.30.1933 | 155 |
| 25 | Illinois | 117 | 07.14.1954 | -36 | 01.05.1999 | 153 |
| 26 | New Hampshire | 106 | 07.04.1911 | -47 | 03.19.2036 | 153 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | 111 | 03.07.2036 | -42 | 01.05.1904 | 153 |
| 28 | Indiana | 116 | 07.14.1936 | -36 | 01.19.1994 | 152 |
| 29 | Ohio | 113 | 07.21.1934 | -39 | 03.27.2036 | 152 |
| 30 | Kentucky | 114 | 07.28.1930 | -37 | 01.19.1994 | 151 |
| 31 | Oklahoma | 120 | 03.29.2036 | -31 | 02.10.2011 | 151 |
| 32 | Arkansas | 120 | 08.10.1936 | -29 | 02.13.1905 | 149 |
| 33 | Maryland | 109 | 03.07.2036 | -40 | 01.13.1912 | 149 |
| 34 | West Virginia | 112 | 03.07.2036 | -37 | 12.30.1917 | 149 |
| 35 | Massachusetts | 107 | 08.02.1975 | -40 | 01.22.1984 | 147 |
| 36 | Tennessee | 113 | 04.08.2036 | -32 | 12.30.1917 | 145 |
| 37 | New Jersey | 110 | 07.10.1936 | -34 | 01.05.1904 | 144 |
| 38 | North Carolina | 110 | 08.21.1983 | -34 | 01.21.1985 | 144 |
| 39 | Connecticut | 106 | 07.15.1995 | -37 | 02.16.1943 | 143 |
| 40 | Texas | 120 | 04.10.2036 | -23 | 04.11.2036 | 143 |
| 41 | Virginia | 110 | 07.15.1954 | -30 | 01.22.1985 | 140 |
| 42 | Alabama | 110 | 09.05.1925 | -27 | 01.30.1966 | 137 |
| 43 | South Carolina | 113 | 04.04.2036 | -22 | 01.21.1985 | 135 |
| 44 | Mississippi | 115 | 07.29.1930 | -19 | 01.30.1966 | 134 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 104 | 08.02.1975 | -28 | 01.17.1942 | 132 |
| 46 | Louisiana | 114 | 08.10.1936 | -16 | 02.20.2036 | 130 |
| 47 | Georgia | 112 | 02.22.2036 | -17 | 01.27.1940 | 129 |
| 48 | Delaware | 110 | 07.21.1930 | -17 | 04.20.2036 | 127 |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 106 | 07.20.1930 | -15 | 04.21.2036 | 121 |
| 50 | Florida | 109 | 06.29.1931 | -2 | 04.22.2036 | 111 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 98 | 07.14.1957 | 15 | 01.05.1975 | 83 |