Subzero Spectacle: Minnesota’s Coldest Temperature Ever Is Amazing

Get our free mobile app

We may have been shivering our way through more frigid sub-zero temperatures this weekend, but just how close are we to the coldest temperature ever recorded in Minnesota?

Sure, it's been cold in Minnesota lately, right?

Our latest bout with all that bitter Arctic air has had many of us shivering in our boots for the past several days. I mean, when your thermometer says -12 F when you wake up in the morning, as ours did Sunday morning, you know it's a wee bit nippy. (BTW, the correct way to pronounce that temperature is "12 below zero..." or "12 below..." and NOT "minus 12" or worse, "negative 12..." am I right?)

Of course, it was even colder up north in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. And we all know the cold has been around for ages, too. In fact, according to the National Weather Service, the actual air temperature dipped to 35 degrees below zero during a cold snap last January at the Evelyth-Virginia Airport north of Duluth. So, yeah, that's definitely cold.

But is that the coldest it's ever been in Minnesota?

As it turns out, nope, it's not. Because to tie Minnesota's All-Time Record Low, the mercury will have to dip all the way down to 60 degrees BELOW ZERO. That's right, the coldest temperature ever recorded in the Land of 10,000 (Frozen) Lakes was -60 F, which happened up in Tower, Minnesota back on February 2, 1996.

According to the Minnesota DNR, the air mass that produced the record low at Tower 25 years ago also produced bitterly cold temperatures across the rest of Minnesota. "The Twin Cities (at MSP airport) recorded -32 F, and has not recorded a temperature of -30 or colder since that time. International Falls bottomed out at -45 F," it noted. Rochester was a bit warmer during that stretch-- only hitting -20 F, a temp we matched back on Sunday, February 7th, 2021.

READ MORE: These Refrigerators & Freezers Soon Won't Be Available in MN 

While we're proud of our ability to withstand such ridiculously cold weather, Minnesota doesn't hold the record for the coldest temperature in the U.S., though. The DNR says the national record is -80 F, set at Prospect Creek, Alaska. Even here in the lower 48 states, Montana (-70 F), Wyoming (-66 F), and Colorado (-61 F) have all recorded colder record lows than Minnesota.

Part of the reason we're able to withstand such bone-chilling cold temperatures is the fact that Minnesotans know what to do to keep warm-- and also what NOT to do. Keep scrolling to check out 13 Things You Should NEVER Do When It's Below Zero in Minnesota, as well as the Most Extreme Temperatures Ever Recorded in Every State!

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 am
Weekday mornings on Quick Country 96.5