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.
Virginia by the numbers
– All-time highest temperature: 110° F (Balcony Falls on July 15, 1954)
– All-time lowest temperature: -30° F (Mount Lake Biological Station on Jan. 21, 1985)
– All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 14.28 inches (Williamsburg 2 N on Sept. 16, 1999)
– All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 33.5 inches (Luray 5 E on March 3, 1994)
Hurricane Floyd caused four deaths in Virginia in 1999 and cost the state $150 million after severely damaging thousands of houses, businesses, and crops. Hundreds of residents had to be evacuated as the water levels increased to several feet. The hurricane affected Williamsburg, Richmond, and other parts of the state like Hanover County and Southampton County.
Continue below to see the most extreme temperatures in the history of other states in your region.
Kentucky by the numbers
– All-time highest temperature: 114° F (Greensburg on July 28, 1930)
– All-time lowest temperature: -37° F (Shelbyville 1 E on Jan. 19, 1994)
– All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 10.48 inches (Louisville WFO on March 1, 1997)
– All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 26 inches (Simers on March 3, 1942)
The flood of 1997 in Louisville resulted in 10.48 inches of rainfall within one day on March 1, 1997. The deluge intensified when smaller streams started overflowing rapidly, which in turn caused the worst flooding along the Ohio River. As if the large amounts of flooding wasn’t bad enough, tornadoes were also reported from Arkansas to southern Kentucky.
Maryland by the numbers
– All-time highest temperature: 109° F (Cumberland on Aug. 6, 1918)
– All-time lowest temperature: -40° F (Oakland 1 SE on Jan.13, 1912)
– All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 14.75 inches (Jewell on July 26–27, 1897)
– All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 31 inches (Clear Spring 1 ENE on March 29, 1942)
The greatest record 24-hour total rainfall in Maryland was in Jewell on July 26–27, 1897. In mid-October, Maryland experienced coastal flooding because of Tropical Storm Melissa that kept increasing water levels at the Chesapeake Bay as floods were 2.5 feet higher than usual.
