Coldest wind chill by state

[Knightking2018]

   Covington, Kentucky January 20, 1985. Temp -20F wind 19.6mph wind chill -48F. Very Impressive for that area.

[dendrite]

2 hours ago, UMB WX said:

glad we don't there.

You’re not kidding.

[Knightking2018]

   Asheville, North Carolina January 21, 1985. Temp -15F winds 27 mph wind chill -45F.

Bradford, Pennsylvania January 21, 1985. Temp -23F wind 18 mph wind chill -51F. 

[beavis1729]

Thanks again KK - good finds. I'll update the list & numbers in a subsequent post.

Amazing how often January 1985 is appearing on the list. Although that cold wave was brutal, it was short-lived...but then again, so are most cold waves in this part of the world. 

ORD high/low temps:

1/18/85: 24/10

1/19/85: 10/-22

1/20/85: -5/-27

1/21/85: 18/-5

1/22/85: 19/10

1/23/85: 24/15

[BuffaloWeather]

Anyone know what New Yorks is? Having trouble finding that stat. 

[BuffaloWeather]

5 hours ago, Knightking2018 said:

  Old Forge, New York had a bone chilling record low temp of -52F on February 18, 1979. Will look for wind chills in New York.

New York Whiteface Mountain had a wind chill of -114F on February 15, 2016. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/upstate-ny-mountain-hits-110-degrees-wind-chill-summit-article-1.2531580

All I can say is ouch, ouch, and ouch!!!!

 

 

 

That -114 cannot be right. Is there a database to find these stats? Haven't been able to find one. 

[Knightking2018]

2 hours ago, BuffaloWeather said:

That -114 cannot be right. Is there a database to find these stats? Haven't been able to find one. 

  It could be wrong but that is what the article said. It was supposedly on Valentine's 2016 and I can't find anything either anywhere. 

[Knightking2018]

2 hours ago, BuffaloWeather said:

That -114 cannot be right. Is there a database to find these stats? Haven't been able to find one. 

       Sorry there was an error. The temperature was -38F with a 45 mph wind creating a wind chill of -84F. Some used the old wind chill scale instead of the new scale. However in this article it states that White Mountain, NY had a wind chill of -110F on February 15, 2015. https://www.newyorkupstate.com/adirondacks/2016/02/wind_chill_top_of_whiteface_mountain_approached_triple_digits_last_night.html

[Knightking2018]

9 minutes ago, Knightking2018 said:

       Sorry there was an error. The temperature was -38F with a 45 mph wind creating a wind chill of -84F. Some used the old wind chill scale instead of the new scale. However in this article it states that White Mountain, NY had a wind chill of -110F on February 15, 2015. https://www.newyorkupstate.com/adirondacks/2016/02/wind_chill_top_of_whiteface_mountain_approached_triple_digits_last_night.html

  I do however believe the -110F was hyped as well and was more likely -80F which is still extremely frigid. Wind chills on February 13, 2016 in Malone, NY were likely around -50F. http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/opinion/columns/safety-on-the-roads-by-dave-werner/2016/12/wind-chill-values-revised-in-2001/

[dendrite]

Found an article from WMUR interviewing someone from the Mt Washington observatory and apparently the wind chill reach -107F during that Jan 2004 cold shot while the temp was -44F. And yeah, that Whiteface -114F isn't accurate. To beat those MWN numbers you need to do it with colder temps. At a certain point stronger and stronger wind magnitude only creates a negligibly lower wind chill.

[tamarack]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2012 at 3:45 PM, beavis1729 said:

Maine

Frenchville, 1/16/2009: wind chill -47 (temp -30, wind 6 mph)

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KFVE/2009/1/16/DailyHistory.html

Excellent/interesting thread.
Big Black River, near the NW border with Quebec, hit a verified -50 that day to set a new state record.  It was probably flat calm or nearly so when the record was set.

However, I'm confident that the state has had significantly colder WCIs than that.  Try looking at Caribou on 12/25/1980, 1/3,4/1981, 1/17,18/1982, and/or 1/14/1988.  On that latter day, CAR was reporting WCI (old scale) of -85 with temp -20.  At the Forest Service building in Portage Lake, the (non-verified) thermometer read -32 and the wind gauge (probably a good one, given the importance for fire control) was hovering either side of 30 mph.  Christmas 1980 was notable for bitter cold and strong winds throughout the Northeast, and though it was less windy 10 days later, CAR temps on Jan 4 were -16/-27, so probably a bit breezy at the airport.  On 1/18/1982, my unofficial thermometer read -34 in the back settlement of Fort Kent, 4 miles SW from (and 450' higher than) the center of Town.  No wind gauge, but the blowing snow suggests gusts well into the 30s and sustained 25+.  CAR hit -28 that morning, Fort Kent -30. 

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, dendrite said:

Found an article from WMUR interviewing someone from the Mt Washington observatory and apparently the wind chill reach -107F during that Jan 2004 cold shot while the temp was -44F. And yeah, that Whiteface -114F isn't accurate. To beat those MWN numbers you need to do it with colder temps. At a certain point stronger and stronger wind magnitude only creates a negligibly lower wind chill.

Is that definitely the MWN record?  They touched -46 on 1/8/1968, and while I don't know their wind speed that day, it was quite breezy where I then lived in NNJ.  Another prospect might be late Dec (30,31) of 1962.  Temps "only" -41/-40 those days, but to the east the BGR area was getting 30-40" with 16-ft drifts and 60 mph gusts.  Meanwhile NYC was establishing its fastest Dec wind on record.

[dendrite]

2 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Is that definitely the MWN record?  They touched -46 on 1/8/1968, and while I don't know their wind speed that day, it was quite breezy where I then lived in NNJ.  Another prospect might be late Dec (30,31) of 1962.  Temps "only" -41/-40 those days, but to the east the BGR area was getting 30-40" with 16-ft drifts and 60 mph gusts.  Meanwhile NYC was establishing its fastest Dec wind on record.

Maybe not. I just figured it was close to the record with that stretch given the -45F min and the 100mph winds.

[beavis1729]

3 hours ago, dendrite said:

Found an article from WMUR interviewing someone from the Mt Washington observatory and apparently the wind chill reach -107F during that Jan 2004 cold shot while the temp was -44F. And yeah, that Whiteface -114F isn't accurate. To beat those MWN numbers you need to do it with colder temps. At a certain point stronger and stronger wind magnitude only creates a negligibly lower wind chill.

Good catch...and it's mentioned again here...although it (incorrectly?) says February instead of January.

http://www.unionleader.com/Not-a-record,-but-windchill-on-Mount-Washington-hits--97

Since the modern wind chill algorithm went into use in 2000, the coldest wind chill atop Mount Washington was minus 107 in February 2004 when the air temperature was minus 44.

 

Also, this link (see Slide 14 of 16 of the slideshow embedded in the article):

http://www.wmur.com/article/photos-mount-washington-extreme-weather-facts/5133412

 

However, on Wikipedia and in a separate article, it mentions -103:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Washington_(New_Hampshire)

http://knowbefore.weatherbug.com/2015/01/21/mount-washington-home-worlds-worst-weather/

On January 16, 2004, the summit weather observation registered a temperature of −43.6 °F (−42.0 °C) and sustained winds of 87.5 mph (140.8 km/h), resulting in a wind chill value of −102.59 °F (−74.77 °C) at the mountain

 

I also saw Tamarack's post about the possibility of even colder wind chills on 1/8/1968 or late Dec. 1962...but I haven't been able to verify the WC at any moment on these dates.  Here is a note about 1/8/1968 (the -150 WC estimate is on the old scale):

http://articles.courant.com/1999-01-16/features/9901180664_1_chris-uggerholt-mount-washington-wind-chill/2

Jan. 8, 1968, is considered one of the worst weather days on record. The wind averaged 92 mph while the temperature ranged from 38 below zero to 46 below zero. That translated to an estimated still-air temperature of minus 150. An observer who went up in the tower that day to tend to the instruments returned with his eyelashes frozen shut.

[beavis1729]

1 hour ago, tamarack said:

Excellent/interesting thread.
Big Black River, near the NW border with Quebec, hit a verified -50 that day to set a new state record.  It was probably flat calm or nearly so when the record was set.

However, I'm confident that the state has had significantly colder WCIs than that.  Try looking at Caribou on 12/25/1980, 1/3,4/1981, 1/17,18/1982, and/or 1/14/1988.  On that latter day, CAR was reporting WCI (old scale) of -85 with temp -20.  At the Forest Service building in Portage Lake, the (non-verified) thermometer read -32 and the wind gauge (probably a good one, given the importance for fire control) was hovering either side of 30 mph.  Christmas 1980 was notable for bitter cold and strong winds throughout the Northeast, and though it was less windy 10 days later, CAR temps on Jan 4 were -16/-27, so probably a bit breezy at the airport.  On 1/18/1982, my unofficial thermometer read -34 in the back settlement of Fort Kent, 4 miles SW from (and 450' higher than) the center of Town.  No wind gauge, but the blowing snow suggests gusts well into the 30s and sustained 25+.  CAR hit -28 that morning, Fort Kent -30. 

Thank you, and I appreciate the Maine info.

Ding ding ding! The WC in Caribou hit -52 on 1/18/1982 (temp -25 with 16 mph sustained winds from the SW ).  Not bad.  The other dates you mentioned saw wind chills ranging from -45 to -51 in Caribou.  Let's go with -52 for the Maine record, for now.

[Knightking2018]

  Are mesonets more of a common use thing today then they were like 30+ years ago? It was used to get the -47F wind chill near Medford, Oklahoma on February 10, 2011. That wind chill does not appear anywhere on wunderground from that date. https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KBKN/2011/2/10/DailyHistory.html?req_city=&req_state=&req_statename=&reqdb.zip=&reqdb.magic=&reqdb.wmo=

The coldest wind chill on that date was -39F in Blackwell, Oklahoma. So I assume they must be used in more rural areas as to why they don't show up on wunderground. 

[Knightking2018]

   Beckley Va Hospital, West Virginia January 21, 1985. Temp -23F winds 17 mph wind chill -50F.

Hot Springs, Virginia January 21, 1985  -20F winds 20 mph wind chill -48F.   https://www.almanac.com/weather/history/VA/Hot Springs/1985-01-21

[tamarack]

17 hours ago, beavis1729 said:

 

I also saw Tamarack's post about the possibility of even colder wind chills on 1/8/1968 or late Dec. 1962...but I haven't been able to verify the WC at any moment on these dates.  Here is a note about 1/8/1968 (the -150 WC estimate is on the old scale):

http://articles.courant.com/1999-01-16/features/9901180664_1_chris-uggerholt-mount-washington-wind-chill/2

Jan. 8, 1968, is considered one of the worst weather days on record. The wind averaged 92 mph while the temperature ranged from 38 below zero to 46 below zero. That translated to an estimated still-air temperature of minus 150. An observer who went up in the tower that day to tend to the instruments returned with his eyelashes frozen shut.

Thanks for the link - a fun read.  According to the article, Jan. 8, 1968 had a spell with temps running -38 to -46 and winds averaging 92 mph.  What's the WCI for -46/92?  About -110?

The comment about eyes frozen shut reminds me of what I called "walk backwards days" when I lived in N. Maine.  These had temps double-digits below zero and very strong winds.  When one was facing to windward, a gust would make the eyes water and the first blink froze the lids together, at which point one had to turn away and cover the eyes with (protected) hands until things thawed.  There was maybe 4-5 such days in my 10 years there.

[beavis1729]

7 hours ago, Knightking2018 said:

   Beckley Va Hospital, West Virginia January 21, 1985. Temp -23F winds 17 mph wind chill -50F.

Hot Springs, Virginia January 21, 1985  -20F winds 20 mph wind chill -48F.   https://www.almanac.com/weather/history/VA/Hot Springs/1985-01-21

That's impressive for VA.  The more I read about it, it seems like the January 1985 arctic outbreak may not be matched for 100+ years in some locations.

[beavis1729]

5 hours ago, tamarack said:

Thanks for the link - a fun read.  According to the article, Jan. 8, 1968 had a spell with temps running -38 to -46 and winds averaging 92 mph.  What's the WCI for -46/92?  About -110?

The comment about eyes frozen shut reminds me of what I called "walk backwards days" when I lived in N. Maine.  These had temps double-digits below zero and very strong winds.  When one was facing to windward, a gust would make the eyes water and the first blink froze the lids together, at which point one had to turn away and cover the eyes with (protected) hands until things thawed.  There was maybe 4-5 such days in my 10 years there.

Yeah...-46 with 92 mph winds is a -107 WC.

I can relate to the "walk backwards days"...those are some hardcore conditions.  I can remember 2 days like this in N IL over the past 25 years: 1/18/1994 in college, walking across campus early in the morning with temps around -22 with wind gusts in the 20s...at least it was bright and sunny!  Also, 1/6/2014 IMBY in the NW suburbs of Chicago...with a temp of -17 and WC in the -40s...and cloudy skies with a foot of snow on the ground.  Amazing how much more arctic-like it feels when it's cloudy during those cold conditions...even though of course the temp was probably held up a bit since there wasn't much radiational cooling.

[Knightking2018]

   Frostburg Maryland January 21, 1985. Temp -26F wind 15 mph wind chill -53F. 

[Hoosier]

2 hours ago, beavis1729 said:

Yeah...-46 with 92 mph winds is a -107 WC.

I can relate to the "walk backwards days"...those are some hardcore conditions.  I can remember 2 days like this in N IL over the past 25 years: 1/18/1994 in college, walking across campus early in the morning with temps around -22 with wind gusts in the 20s...at least it was bright and sunny!  Also, 1/6/2014 IMBY in the NW suburbs of Chicago...with a temp of -17 and WC in the -40s...and cloudy skies with a foot of snow on the ground.  Amazing how much more arctic-like it feels when it's cloudy during those cold conditions...even though of course the temp was probably held up a bit since there wasn't much radiational cooling.

1/6/2014 was quite an experience. Besides the extreme cold, the fact that the temperature dropped to those levels so soon after the snowstorm meant that the roads were a mess.  Even the main roads had that layer of hardened snow that wouldn't come off.

[Hoosier]

16 minutes ago, Knightking2018 said:

  Didn't your area get wind chills in the -40s and -50s on January 6, 2014? My area mainly got wind chills in the -20F to -35F on January 6, 2014. I had a temp of -11F with a wind chill of -30F and I kept going in and out of my apartment every hour to make sure my car would start because my brother had to go to work work that morning. I only went outside and had on just jeans, a shirt, a jacket, and my socks and shoes and was usually out there a minute or two at a time. My legs went numb on my last time and when I came inside my apartment it felt like the bones in one of my legs was going to shatter. Just because the wind chills are not in the -40s or -50s never underestimate the power of somewhat warmer wind chills. It only takes like 15 minutes to get frostbite in a wind chill of -25F to -30F.

    Also on March 2-3, 2014 my area(KCMO) had a low temp of -5F and a high of 5F. The winds were blowing at 30 mph creating a wind chill of -25F. It was the coldest day in March in KCMO ever recorded. Very unusual for March in that area.

I was in Lafayette, IN back then.  Looks like the wind chill bottomed out at -40

[beavis1729]

I added GA...I'm sure there has been a lower WC value in the NE GA mountains...but the -28 in Atlanta on 1/21/1985 was the lowest that I could verify.

I updated MT, based on the all-time statewide min at Rogers Pass mentioned in the MT Climate Atlas:

https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/tfx/climate/montatlas/MontanaAtlasToC.html

Also, I revised the AK record, as I could not validate the -102 in Deadhorse on 1/28/1989.  The lowest appears to be -100 in McGrath on 1/27/1989 (temp -72 with a 7 mph wind...one of Alaska's greatest cold waves on record).

Here is a great write-up on the AK wind chill record...including comments on Mt. Washington:

http://us-climate.blogspot.com/2014/12/us-national-wind-chill-record.html

[beavis1729]

Bonus fact

The coldest wind chill on record in North America appears to be -108 in Pelly Bay, Nunavut on 1/13/1975.  Temp -59 with winds of 34 mph.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-science-of-wind-chill-1.819530

[Knightking2018]

4 hours ago, beavis1729 said:

Bonus fact

The coldest wind chill on record in North America appears to be -108 in Pelly Bay, Nunavut on 1/13/1975.  Temp -59 with winds of 34 mph.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-science-of-wind-chill-1.819530

  It is actually -60F(-51C) with winds of 35 mph(56 knots) creating a wind chill of -110F(-79C). Old scale was -144F(-98C). 

  Also the coldest wind chill in the world occured in August of 2005 in Vostok Station, Antarctica. Temp was -99F with winds of 110 mph creating a wind chill of -191F or -192F. Some articles say -191F others say -192F. Talk about instant freeze.

 

[AfewUniversesBelowNormal]

The upper midwest one's aren't that impressive. -50 in Chicago? Big deal. I bet the further south has some better extremes. I bet the western 1/3 of the country has some better extremes. 

[Hoosier]

8 minutes ago, Knightking2018 said:

  Chicago had a wind chill of -60F on January 20, 1985. The temp was -27F and winds were 25 mph. On the old wind chill scale that would be a -84F. 

https://www.weather.gov/lot/Chicago_Temperature_Records

Looks like that was intrahour.  That's the thing... these wind chill records are almost always going to be hourly readings since I don't think it's possible to find intrahour observation archives from long ago.

[Knightking2018]

8 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Looks like that was intrahour.  That's the thing... these wind chill records are almost always going to be hourly readings since I don't think it's possible to find intrahour observation archives from long ago.

  I agree data is scarce. 

Also wind gusts don't seem to play a role in the wind chill calculation and they probably should. However it doesn't seem to make a big difference but at least it does somewhat. 

[tamarack]

17 hours ago, Knightking2018 said:

  It is actually -60F(-51C) with winds of 35 mph(56 knots) creating a wind chill of -110F(-79C). Old scale was -144F(-98C). 

  Also the coldest wind chill in the world occured in August of 2005 in Vostok Station, Antarctica. Temp was -99F with winds of 110 mph creating a wind chill of -191F or -192F. Some articles say -191F others say -192F. Talk about instant freeze.

 

Many years ago I read a book called Minus 148 (old scale, obviously), about an attempted winter ascent of Denali during which the climbers were pinned for days by very strong winds.   Don Sheldon, the famed Denali-region bush pilot, flew to the mountain during the winds to check on those men, and he recounted a near hover above the same spot while his airspeed indicator was at 140 knots.