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Weather Across the U.S.
Extreme Heat
The highest temperature ever recorded, not only
in the United States but in the entire Western
Hemisphere, was in Death Valley in California.
On July 10, 1913, the temperature rose to an un-
believable 134°F (58°C). This measurement was
taken at Greenland Ranch (now Furnace Creek)
by caretaker and weather observer Oscar Den-
ton, who reported the event in these words:
It was so hot that swallows in full ight fell to the
earth dead. When I went out to read the ther-
mometer with a wet Turkish towel on my head, it
was dry before I returned.
Temperatures of 128 and 129°F (53,8 and
53,9°C) were recorded in Death Valley on other
occasions, usually during the month of June or
July. Generally, the region most susceptible to
extreme heat in the United States stretches from
Palm Springs to Phoenix and includes lower el-
evations of the Mojave Desert. The cities located
in the area include Phoenix, Yuma, Palmdale,
and Palm Springs.
The places above are hot as well as dry, but they
are not among the cities in the United States
with the highest year-round average tempera-
ture. Florida and Hawaii are the two states that
divide between them the 17 American cities with
average annual temperatures exceeding 77°F
(25°C).
Extreme Cold
On the other end of the temperature spectrum,
the reading of -80°F (-62°C) recorded on Janu-
ary 23, 1971 at Prospect Creek Camp near the
Arctic Circle in Alaska is the lowest temperature
ever recorded in the United States. The lowest
temperature ever recorded in the lower 48 states
of the US is 10°F warmer, which still is very, very
cold. The coldest temperature recorded in the
lower states was -70°F (-56.7°C) on January 20,
1954 at Rogers Pass, Montana. States such as
Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Ore-
gon, New York, Michigan, Vermont, Maine, New
Mexico, New Hampshire, and Nevada have all
recorded temperatures of at least -50°F (-45°C).
It is not surprising that the place in the U.S. with
the coldest average annual temperature is in
Alaska. Its north coast, along the Beaufort Sea,
has an average annual temperature of around
12°F (-11°C). Outside of Alaska, the peak of
Mount Washington in New Hampshire has the
coldest climate over the year with average tem-
perature of 27.4°F (-2.6°C). Colorado, Wyoming,
Utah and Montana also are home to some of
the other places with the lowest average annual
temperatures.
The place in the United States where the temper-
atures most often drop below freezing happens
to be in one of the warmest states of the country,
California. This is the former mining town, Bodie.
One of the greatest assets of the state of Florida is its mild and sunny climate. These are av-
erage annual temperatures which range from 65° to 70°F (18° to 21°C) in the north, and from
74° to 77°F (23° to 25°C) in the southern peninsula that make Florida a major tourist center
and a retirement home for millions of Americans from across the country. High humidity and
abundant rainfall in addition to high temperatures create a good climate for growing citrus
fruits such oranges (orange juice is the ofcial state beverage), tangerines, and grapefruit,
as well as tomatoes and strawberries. Agriculture is one of the pillars of the state’s economy.
Every now and then, however, freezing jeopardizes this economy (see the cover photo). What
can farmers do? To protect their fruit they spray water on them to keep their temperature as
close to 32°F (0°C) as possible and prevent the fruit from being damaged.
Weather extremes can occur in every climate zone and extreme temperatures are just one
example of weather abnormalities. Spring 2011 was a spring to remember, with America
pummeled by tornadoes, oods, wildre, snowmelt, thunderstorms and drought. Weather
researchers said that, while similar extremes have occurred throughout modern American
history, never before had they occurred in a single month.
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