Chilly climate could be a cozy change of tempo from more and more scorching summers, and is usually welcomed when it returns yearly. Folks particularly look ahead to peaceable, snowy winters in northern states, the place winter wonderlands are the norm.
Sadly, chilly climate is changing into rarer. The ten warmest years on file have all occurred over the last decade, and winter is the fastest-warming season, changing into extra pronounced the additional north you go. Should you’re a home hunter seeking to purchase or a vendor seeking to relocate, these are vital elements to think about.
So, on the heels of a chilly winter, the place can you continue to discover chilly temperatures? And what are the coldest cities within the nation? Redfin has compiled an inventory of the coldest cities within the U.S. to assist. Learn on to find if one in every of them is best for you.
How we measure the coldest cities
For our functions of figuring out the “coldest” cities, this listing will deal with cities which have the bottom common annual temperature. This fashion, we will decide the good cities year-round. We may even embody a metropolis’s common winter temperature, however gained’t use it for rating functions.
Maintain studying to see Redfin’s rankings of the coldest cities within the U.S. with a inhabitants of 20,000 or extra.
What are the coldest cities within the U.S.?
Fairbanks, AK
Anchorage, AK
Grand Forks, ND
Butte, MT
Marquette, MI
Duluth, MN
Williston, ND
Dickinson, ND
Juneau, AK
Moorhead, MN
1. Fairbanks, Alaska
Common annual temperature: 28.3°F
Common winter temperature: -4.1°F
Report lowest temperature: –66°F (1934)
Fairbanks is actually a frigid metropolis, owed largely to its darkish, bitterly chilly winters. They usually’re happy with it. They don’t shut colleges for chilly climate, recess is just canceled when temperatures attain -20°F, and College of Alaska, Fairbanks college students have a practice of posing for pictures in swimsuits when temperatures attain -40°F. Typical winter low temperatures are a bitter -13.8°F.
Fairbanks is famously chilly, not simply due to its far-northern location, but additionally its geography. Tucked within the flat, landlocked Tanana Valley, it’s bordered by the Arctic Nationwide Wildlife Refuge to the north and the glacier-capped Alaskan Rockies to the south. This setup traps chilly Arctic air, inflicting deep freezes and lengthy chilly snaps. The dry air additionally permits temperatures to swing sharply, rising larger and falling a lot decrease.
Due to its inland location and dry air, Fairbanks additionally sees a lot bigger seasonal temperature swings than different Alaskan cities, like Anchorage. Summer time highs common a pleasing 70.3 in Fairbanks, whereas they common simply 64.5 in Anchorage. 24/7 summer time daylight doesn’t damage, both.
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2. Anchorage, Alaska
Common annual temperature: 37.6°F
Common winter temperature: 19.2°F
Report lowest temperature: -38°F (1947)
Anchorage is the second-coldest metropolis in the US. The town owes its chilly temperatures primarily to its far northern location, as an alternative of frigid Arctic blasts of air. It’s because it’s situated close to the ocean and surrounded by mountains, which helps maintain temperatures from getting excessively scorching or chilly. Anchorage can also be the cloudiest metropolis within the U.S.
In comparison with different Alaskan cities, Anchorage is definitely pretty gentle. The chilly Gulf of Alaska gives a moderating affect year-round, whereas the huge Chugach Mountains and Alaskan Rockies assist maintain the worst of the climate away.
Excessive chilly can occur, although. Probably the most intense chilly snap occurred in 1946-47, when the town recorded 12 straight days of low temperatures -30°F or decrease. The everyday winter low temperature in Anchorage is 13.3°F.
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3. Grand Forks, North Dakota
Common annual temperature: 39.8°F
Common winter temperature: 9.9°F
Report lowest temperature: -43°F (1912/2004)
Grand Forks, ND is the coldest metropolis within the contiguous United States. The town will get so chilly primarily due to its far-northern latitude, flat, landlocked topography, and publicity to Arctic air lots.
The town is particularly chilly due to winter temperatures. In contrast to coastal cities that profit from the moderating results of huge our bodies of water, Grand Forks will get the total brunt of frigid air descending from Canada’s inside. The flat panorama permits these chilly air lots to brush throughout the plains unimpeded, resulting in extraordinarily chilly temperatures.
The air is mostly pretty dry, although, and summers will be fairly heat; warmth waves movement by way of simply as simply as chilly fronts. The truth is, the distinction between the best and lowest temperatures ever recorded in Grand Forks is a exceptional 152°F.
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4. Butte, Montana
Common annual temperature: 40.1°F
Common winter temperature: 20.4°F
Report lowest temperature: -52°F (1983)
Butte is exclusive on this listing as a result of it’s a mountain city over a mile above sea degree, within the coronary heart of the Northern Rockies. As such, elevation performs an enormous position within the metropolis’s local weather. The mountains act as a barrier from the brunt of many chilly fronts and warmth waves, offering a moderating affect just like a metropolis on the coast.
In brief, Butte is persistently cool and infrequently chilly year-round, resulting in a really low common annual temperature. For instance, the town’s common winter temperature is simply over 20°F, nevertheless it sees 197 days with low temperatures beneath freezing.
Butte could also be a bit hotter than data recommend, although. Official temperature readings are taken on the Butte Mooney Airport, two miles to the southeast, which is mostly colder than on the town.
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5. Marquette, Michigan
Common annual temperature: 40.4°F
Common winter temperature: 16.8°F
Report lowest temperature: -33°F (1861)
Marquette, an higher peninsula metropolis well-known for its snowy winters, lakeside recreation, and industrial previous, is a really chilly metropolis. Set on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette sees a reasonably comparable local weather to close by Duluth, MN, with frigid, snowy winters and really gentle summers.
The huge lake helps average temperatures, conserving them round 3-4°F hotter within the winter than locations additional inland. Nevertheless it additionally produces enormous quantities of lake impact snow when Arctic chilly fronts go over the milder lake water. This heavy snow cowl can push temperatures decrease.
Regardless of the chilly and snow, individuals adore the quaint Michigan metropolis. Snowy winter festivals, cozy cabins, and quiet walks within the hilly woods are all widespread in and across the space. Ski mountains are even situated simply 5 minutes from downtown.
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6. Duluth, Minnesota
Common annual temperature: 40.6°F
Common winter temperature: 14.6°F
Report lowest temperature: -41°F (1885)
Duluth is the sixth-coldest metropolis within the U.S. The town sees low temperatures beneath freezing for over half of the 12 months.
Duluth is chilly year-round due to its northern location and its proximity to Lake Superior. In the course of the summer time, the lake primarily acts like a warmth sink, conserving the area a lot cooler than close by cities like Minneapolis. And in the course of the winter, Lake Superior typically partially freezes over, inflicting further cooling. The area additionally receives freezing Arctic air from Canada yearly, which is when the acute chilly happens.
Duluth sees an abundance of lake-effect snow, too, making it one of many snowiest cities within the U.S.
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7. Williston, North Dakota
Common annual temperature: 41.7°F
Common winter temperature: 14.6°F
Report lowest temperature: -50°F (1936)
Williston, ND is the seventh-coldest metropolis within the U.S. Just like Grand Forks, Williston is so chilly due to its brutal winters attributable to Arctic chilly fronts. Freezing temperatures are made attainable by a flat panorama and no giant our bodies of water.
Wind chill is an particularly vital issue within the winter. Basically, wind chill is how chilly the air truly feels when factoring in wind speeds – just like how the warmth index measures how scorching the air truly feels when accounting for humidity.
Williston, like most cities on the Nice Plains, is pretty windy year-round, particularly when storms go over. This may produce dangerously low wind chill values within the winter, on high of already bitterly chilly temperatures. Final 12 months, an Arctic blast hit North Dakota and produced record-low wind chill values of -62°F in Williston, chilly sufficient to get frostbite in 5 minutes.
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8. Dickinson, North Dakota
Common annual temperature: 42.0°F
Common winter temperature: 17.2°F
Report lowest temperature: -47°F (1936)
Dickinson, subsequent door to Theodore Roosevelt Nationwide Park and residential to a world-class dinosaur museum, is a really chilly metropolis. Dickinson is so chilly for a similar causes that Williston and Grand Forks are so chilly: Flat prairies, a landlocked northern location, and constant wind, all resulting in frequent blasts of Arctic air that drop temperatures to dangerously low values.
Dickinson’s topography and local weather are practically an identical to Williston – it’s simply two hours southeast, in spite of everything. Prairies, badlands, and buttes outline the panorama. A record-low wind chill worth of -70°F was measured throughout an Arctic blast in early 2024, just like values in Williston and Bismarck.
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9. Juneau, Alaska
Common annual temperature: 42.1°F
Common winter temperature: 29.6°F
Report lowest temperature: -22°F (1968/1972)
Alaska’s capital metropolis, Juneau, is situated within the damp, mountainous Panhandle area of the state, most of which is roofed by temperate rainforest. Awe-inspiring landscapes dominate the panorama, like glacier-filled mountains, salmon-rich rivers, and deep blue waters.
Juneau takes temperature consistency to a complete new degree. The chilly, northern Gulf of Alaska moderates temperatures and gives loads of moisture, conserving summers very cool and winters chilly however not bitterly so. Juneau’s warmest and driest month, July, has a median excessive of simply 64°F, whereas winters common round 30°F.
Juneau can also be very moist year-round, seeing as much as 90 inches of precipitation yearly. Within the winter, many of the precipitation falls as snow. Sadly, as a consequence of very heat temperatures, the 2024-25 winter noticed far-below regular snowfall. This got here on the heels of the winter of 2023-24, which was Juneau’s snowiest in over a decade.
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10. Moorhead, Minnesota
Common annual temperature: 42.2°F
Common winter temperature: 12.4°F
Report lowest temperature: -48°F (1887)
Moorhead, Fargo’s Midwestern neighbor, is the tenth-coldest metropolis within the U.S. The town is so chilly as a result of it sits within the flat Nice Plains, particularly the fertile Pink River Valley. This implies there’s nothing to dam the chilly Arctic air that commonly pushes in from Canada in the course of the winter. And with out mountains or our bodies of water to manage temperatures, they will dip dangerously low. Summers can get scorching for comparable causes, when heat air floods in from the south.
Curiously, most temperature readings are included as a part of Fargo, since they’re situated simply throughout state traces. Moorhead has a barely decrease official common winter temperature (0.4°F colder), although, so it simply barely beats out its counterpart to make the listing.
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What’s the coldest place within the U.S.?
The outright coldest inhabited place within the U.S. is Utqiagvik (previously Level Barrow) on the northern tip of Alaska. The common annual temperature is simply 12.7°F, and within the winter, temperatures common 11 levels beneath zero (-24°C). The bottom temperature on file for Utqiagvik is -56°F.
Utqiagvik experiences polar nights for over 60 days in the course of the winter, which means the solar by no means rises. Surprisingly, over 4,000 individuals dwell within the city year-round, and proof means that the Iñupiat peoples have referred to as the realm residence for at the very least 1,500 years (seemingly far longer). If you wish to transfer right here, you’ll discover it pretty tough, although, as the one approach to attain the city is by airplane or boat.
How are temperatures altering?
Temperatures around the globe are rising quickly, particularly within the far north and south. This unprecedented warming is intensifying local weather change and already inflicting dramatic socioeconomic impacts, comparable to strained water provides, meals insecurity, and extra.
As temperatures rise, analysis exhibits that the coldest cities within the U.S. will get hotter. Report low temperatures will change into much less frequent, whereas file excessive temperatures will change into extra regular. That is already occurring, too; seven out of ten cities on this listing had a decrease common temperature simply 10 years in the past (evaluating 30-year normals from 1980-2010 to 1990-2020).
The 2023-2024 winter was additionally the warmest on file within the contiguous U.S., with many calling it “The Lost Winter.” 2024-25 was a lot colder, however nonetheless ranked above common for the season.
Methodology
This listing accommodates common annual temperature information for metropolitan areas with over 20,000 residents. Chilly cities are typically much less populated, so we lowered our inhabitants threshold to assemble a extra full dataset.
Information comes from the Nationwide Facilities for Environmental Info (NCEI) and its mum or dad administration, the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Common annual temperatures are a twelve-month common based mostly on information from 1991-2020. Common winter temperatures are a three-month common based mostly on information from December-February 1991-2020.
A mean annual temperature combines a metropolis’s common every day excessive and low temperatures from January-December. A mean winter temperature combines a metropolis’s common every day excessive and low temperatures from December-February.
