See the most extreme temperatures in Montana 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.
Montana by the numbers
- All-time highest temperature: 117° F (Glendive on July 20, 1893)
- All-time lowest temperature: -70° F (Rogers Pass on Jan.20, 1954)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 11.5 inches (Springbrook on June 20, 1921)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 48 inches (Millegan 14 SE on Dec. 27, 2003)
Montana's lowest temperature was recorded in 1954 at -70 degrees. But in early February 2019 and into the first week of March, Montana set a brand-new bone-chilling record for consecutive below-freezing days when Great Falls concluded its 32-day streak on March 8, 2019.
Continue below to see the most extreme temperatures in the history of other states in your region.
Idaho by the numbers
- All-time highest temperature: 118° F (Orofino on July 28, 1934)
- All-time lowest temperature: -60° F (Island Park on Jan.18, 1943)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 7.17 inches (Rattlesnake Creek on Nov. 23, 1909)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 31 inches (Anderson Dam on Dec.18, 1967)
Rattlesnake Creek in Elmore County was recorded on Nov. 23, 1909, to have received the most rainfall of 7.17 inches in one day. In April 2019, several residents in the nearby community of Stites woke up to the sight of their homes and neighborhoods covered in more than a foot of water that had accumulated within an hour early in the morning.
North Dakota by the numbers
- All-time highest temperature: 121° F (Steele 4N on July 6, 1936)
- All-time lowest temperature: -60° F (Parshall on Feb. 15, 1936)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 8.1 inches (Litchville 2NW on June 29, 1975)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 27 inches (Minot International Airport on April 27, 1984)
Parshall became intolerably frigid in February 1936 at -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Interestingly, this recording was made by an unnamed coal-miner, who had volunteered to be a weather observer, with the help of a special (mercury-thallium alloy) thermometer.
