See the Most Extreme Temperatures in Massachusetts History
Will this week's weather set local records?
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-Aug.) on record in 2021, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. But will this week's heat wave in Massachusetts give the previous record high a run for its money?
Stacker consulted data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the temperature and precipitation records in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts records
- All-time highest temperature: 107° F (Chester on Aug. 2, 1975)
- All-time lowest temperature: -35° F (Chester on Jan. 12, 1981)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 18.15 inches (Westfield on Aug. 18, 1955)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 29.0 inches (Natick on April 1, 1997)
This week, according to WHDH, temperatures in Boston on Tuesday are going to smash the daily high record for June 24 (95° F) and might break an all-June record of 100° F. The high will approach but won't likely surpass the all-time record of 104° F, set back in 1904.
Wondering how the records stack up across the country?
States with the highest maximum temperature
#1. California: 134° F (Greenland Ranch on July 10, 1913)
#2. Arizona: 128° F (Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994)
#3. Nevada: 125° F (Laughlin on June 29, 1994)
#4. New Mexico: 122° F (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (nr. Loving) on June 27, 1994)
#5. Kansas: 121° F (Alton on July 24, 1936)
States with the lowest minimum temperature
#1. Alaska: -80° F (Prospect Creek Camp on Jan. 23, 1971)
#2. Montana: -70° F (Rogers Pass on Jan. 20, 1954)
#3. Wyoming: -66° F (Riverside Ranger Stn. (Yellowstone NP) on Feb. 9, 1933)
#4. Colorado: -61° F (Maybell on Feb. 1, 1985)
#5. Idaho: -60° F (Island Park Dam on Jan. 18, 1943)
