The Most Uncomfortable City in the Country is Right Here in Minnesota

Minnesota is known for many things, like our great medical care, our great schools, and the abundant natural beauty found in and around our 10,000 lakes. But now, we're also known as the state than contains the Most Uncomfortable City in the Country.

That's the result of a new study published this week in the journal Scientific Reports that compares 25 cities here in the U.S. according to their temperatures. And, our wild swings between a hot, steamy summer and a bitterly cold winter have teamed up to make Minneapolis number-one on the list of uncomfortable cities.

BringMeTheNews says those results were compiled by Ken Caldeira of Stanford University’s Carnegie Institute of Science. And while Minneapolis ranked first in being uncomfortable, San Diego was ranked last-- meaning, thanks to its similarly mild temperatures in both the summer and winter-- it's the most comfortable city in the country.

We know it can get really hot and humid in the summer, and really cold in the winter here in Minnesota. But just how how did this study compute those rankings? According to the story, the survey "looked at the number of “degree days” 25 major U.S. cities have. That’s basically how many days were above or below 65 degrees – the measure for the number of days that may require some type of heating or cooling. The methodology is pretty complicated and scientific (the Washington Post helps explain the “degree days” measurement), but in the end, the more days where the temperature is around 65 degrees, the more pleasant the climate is in that city."

So that explains it. And even though I don't live in Minneapolis (and our weather here in Rochester can be much different than the Twin Cities), it's similar enough that I'm not surprised by the results. I try to keep my cool on a sweltering, steamy summer day by remembering that in just 6 months or so, I'll be huddling in front of the fireplace trying to stay warm when the windchill is nearing 30 below.

But even though our biggest city is now ranked as the most uncomfortable, surviving those wild temperature swings here in Minnesota is kind of a bragging right, isn't it? We can take both the extreme heat and cold. And, as some say, those wild swings help keep the 'riff raff' out!