See the most extreme temperatures in Kansas history
On July 9, 2021, California's Death Valley reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit, according to an automated measuring system there, representing one of the highest temperatures ever recorded on the planet. The world record, also recorded at Death Valley, was 134 degrees in July 1913.
More than 210 degrees Fahrenheit separates the highest and the lowest temperatures on record in the United States, the third-largest country in the world. As some states are infamous for having blistering hot summers, others become inundated by winter storms and frigid cold. The contiguous U.S. had its warmest meteorological summer (June-August) on record in 2021, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.
Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.
Keep reading to find out your state's record, or see the national list here.
Kansas by the numbers
- All-time highest temperature: 121° F (Fredonia on July 18, 1936)
- All-time lowest temperature: -40° F (Lebanon on Feb. 13, 1905)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: Data not available
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 30 inches (Pratt 3NW on March 28, 2009)
Pratt, a city with a population of 6,835 people, had recorded the state's heaviest snowfall on March 28, 2009. A spring snowstorm had resulted in a whopping 30 inches of snow falling within one day in Pratt.
Continue below to see the most extreme temperatures in the history of other states in your region.
Colorado by the numbers
- All-time highest temperature: 115° F (John Martin Reservoir on July 20, 2019)
- All-time lowest temperature: -61° F (Maybell on Feb. 1, 1985)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 11.85 inches (USGS Rod & Gun (Ft. Carson) on Sept.12, 2013)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 75.8 inches (Silver Lake on April 14–15, 1921)
During the 2013 floods that took place across Colorado, the highest precipitation levels were recorded on Sept. 12, 2013, at Fort Carson, a United States Army installation located in El Paso County. In September 2019, smaller rainstorms affected Denver that resulted in flash floods and mudslides.
Missouri by the numbers
- All-time highest temperature: 118° F (Warsaw 1 on July 14, 1954)
- All-time lowest temperature: -40° F (Warsaw 1 on Feb. 13, 1905)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 18.18 inches (Edgerton on July 20, 1965)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 24 inches (Jackson on Feb. 25, 1979)
Warsaw is one of two cities in the United States that holds the record for both the highest and lowest temperatures recorded in a state (the other is Millsboro, Delaware). During the 1965 flood in Edgerton, four people died and 729 residences were damaged or completely destroyed. Approximately 433,000 acres of agricultural land flooded during the deluge. The total damages the floods inflicted on properties cost Missouri $24,292,900.
