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This is a thread showcasing the most extreme continental or just cold or really poleward climates on earth. I would recomment screenshotting forecasts from www.weatheronline.co.uk for your given location. This could definitely be an interesting thread during the really cold season in Siberia, Alaska and the Arctic.
What kind of places can you find out there?
Verkhoyansk this time of the year isn't comfy to say the least
Fort Yukon also lives up to its reputation as the North American pole of winter cold as far as settlements go:
On the other hand, Tromsø at 69°N isn't exactly friendly ground for snow cover right now...
I'd say Old Crow, Yukon, is a candidate for the NA Pole of Cold as far as settlements are concerned. Its averages are even a little bit colder than Fort Yukon. Latest Environment Canada forecast:
Source: https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/yt-11_metric_e.html
However the real Pole of Cold in North America is Eureka, Nunavut. Unfortunately Environment Canada doesn't issue forecasts for Eureka but here's the weatheronline one:
Source: https://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weat...R=0&NOREGION=1
^There are a bunch of towns in Arctic Nunavut with 1000+ people that have colder averages than Old Crow: take Cambridge Bay, Taloyoak, Pond Inlet, Gjoa Haven, or even places as far south as Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet.
In comparison, Old Crow is warmer, has shorter winters, and has barely 200 people. It apparently gets slightly colder extremes, but that's about it. Not even remotely a candidate for NA Pole of Cold.
Good call there, I always thought Fort Yukon was the coldest among settlements. Paradoxically it actually is in December due to the front-loaded nature of Alaska, but Old Crow catches up and becomes colder still from this month onward.
Here's (as far as I know it) the world's coldest settlement that is too warm in summer to be subarctic:
Far East Siberia, consistent bone-chilling weather the coming week. What also makes that place unique, is that it's a climate warmer than subarctic that has never been above freezing in January. Impressive stuff.
That's true if we consider archipelagoes too. As far as the North American mainland goes, it's probably Old Crow, but if we'll follow the letter of the law and count Nunavut's archipelago as co-equal to the mainland, then that's where the settlement pole of cold is. Even then, Eureka is the obvious answer. Since Fort Yukon has the coldest recorded temperature, it is also a candidate for that alone.
So all in all:
Coldest temp: Fort Yukon
Coldest mainland settlement: Old Crow
Coldest Canadian settlement: Gjoa Haven
Coldest station: Eureka
Good call there, I always thought Fort Yukon was the coldest among settlements. Paradoxically it actually is in December due to the front-loaded nature of Alaska, but Old Crow catches up and becomes colder still from this month onward.
Here's (as far as I know it) the world's coldest settlement that is too warm in summer to be subarctic:
Far East Siberia, consistent bone-chilling weather the coming week. What also makes that place unique, is that it's a climate warmer than subarctic that has never been above freezing in January. Impressive stuff.
Doesn't Ulaanbaatar have a January record high of -2.6 C? Many non-subarctic climates have never reached above freezing in January.
But Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet are on the mainland, and both are larger/colder settlements than Old Crow. It's possible I'm misunderstanding what exactly you're referring to as "mainland."
Also, Eureka doesn't have a permanent population, unless I'm mistaken.
Doesn't Ulaanbaatar have a January record high of -2.6 C? Many non-subarctic climates have never reached above freezing in January.
Define "many". In a general context, it is very rare after all. "Unique" doesn't necessarily mean "world exclusively" That being said, if global warming continues, Imeni Poliny will probably get above freezing in January in the near future, since it's quite dependent on the freeze of Okhotsk Bay. The fact that it can always remain above freezing in spite of being not so far inland from an ocean on its latitude, but still remain humid continental is what's really impressive about it.
But Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet are on the mainland, and both are larger/colder settlements than Old Crow. It's possible I'm misunderstanding what exactly you're referring to as "mainland."
Ah okay those two are mainland Nunavut, sure. That's correct. I'll grant you that. By the Oymyakon standard of coldest temp ever it is still Fort Yukon either way one slices it though. Old Crow is gone, but Fort Yukon stands. Still, evidently Gjoa Haven looks to be the real deal as far as settlements go. It is still clear however, if we're talking the full North American pole of cold as far as averages go that the central Greenland highlands are the coldest. The winter of 1931 saw a -41°C February average high at Eismitte, while the Germans still hung around there. Keep in mind that seasonal lag is quite likely due to it being near the Arctic Ocean, so even with global warming I would suppose that place is colder than Eureka.
Wikipedia calls -38/-46 for Summit Camp, so I guess that's where the real pole of cold for North America would be when counting archipelagoes.
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