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Upper Midwest, particularly Northern Minnesota, have the coldest winters in the lower 48.
Yep, typically, northern Minnesota and northern North Dakota are the first to get frosts/freezes, then it drifts over into northern Great Lakes states, then northern New England.
I didn't vote in this poll, because I've lived in Southern California all of my life, and have no idea what the right answer is!
I'm curious, though, as to why this poll doesn't include Montana. Every winter when an arctic blast blows in from Canada, it seems like the really frigid temperatures are in Montana east of the Continental Divide.
I didn't vote in this poll, because I've lived in Southern California all of my life, and have no idea what the right answer is!
I'm curious, though, as to why this poll doesn't include Montana. Every winter when an arctic blast blows in from Canada, it seems like the really frigid temperatures are in Montana east of the Continental Divide.
The coldest area of Montana is known as the Hi-Line which includes Glacier National Park. That area along with the Cut Bank and Havre areas is quite cold. West Yellowstone, MT is another notable cold spot right near Yellowstone National Park.
I didn't vote in this poll, because I've lived in Southern California all of my life, and have no idea what the right answer is!
I'm curious, though, as to why this poll doesn't include Montana. Every winter when an arctic blast blows in from Canada, it seems like the really frigid temperatures are in Montana east of the Continental Divide.
I'm not sure how Montana is classified. Could it be part of the upper Midwest or is it's category a Rocky Mountain State?
I didn't vote in this poll, because I've lived in Southern California all of my life, and have no idea what the right answer is!
I'm curious, though, as to why this poll doesn't include Montana. Every winter when an arctic blast blows in from Canada, it seems like the really frigid temperatures are in Montana east of the Continental Divide.
Sandy, if you look at average winter high and low temperatures, that title clearly belongs to northeast North Dakota and northern Minnesota. While it's true that pockets of Montana can get quite cold, average temperatures are still higher than the other 2 spots. I've extensively consulted the City Data information on many of the towns along Route 2 through Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. Going east from Rugby/Devils Lake it gets pretty darn cold. Check out Langdon on Route 5 not far from Canada. The average low in January dips to -10! Other than parts of northern Minnesota, no other place gets average temperatures that cold in the lower 48.
In the winter, I've watched cold fronts enter the upper US from Canada. Some enter above Montana and others enter in North Dakota or Minnesota. Sure, some spots get colder first, but averages over the winter are probably more significant over time.
I'm not sure how Montana is classified. Could it be part of the upper Midwest or is it's category a Rocky Mountain State?
Jammie, I would definitely classify Montana as a Rocky Mountain state, although the high plains are a huge part of the eastern part of the state. I just thinks it's too far west to classify as Midwestern or upper Midwest.
I didn't vote in this poll, because I've lived in Southern California all of my life, and have no idea what the right answer is!
I'm curious, though, as to why this poll doesn't include Montana. Every winter when an arctic blast blows in from Canada, it seems like the really frigid temperatures are in Montana east of the Continental Divide.
Hi
Regarding Montana....yeah the arctic fronts can slip quickly down the front range into central and eastern Montana and they can get very cold. But the cold doesnt last very long as usually a day or two after the cold shot winds turn to the southwest and a chinnook develops as winds downslope off the rocky mountain front range...thus sending temps way back up. This warming chinnok flow can reach as far as southwestern half of north dakota and western and central South Dakota before it runs out...
Now the deep valleys of the Rockies like west Yellowstone....Big Piney WY and then to places like Gunnison and Alamosa Colorado can get the very cold air trapped in the deep valleys and get very cold at night...but they can get a bit warmer than areas in ND/nw MN during the day due to the effect of the pine trees prevelant in the area as the green pine trees absorb the suns energy allowing treed areas to get warmer than otherwise would be the case.
In our local area...the Prairie open land over northeast ND and far nw MN has a very hard time warming up during the day when we have snowcover and a fresh arctic airmass as all that sun reflects right off the white snow and there are no pine trees to absorb the suns heat. We often see Northeast Minnesota such as Embarass get extremely cold at night but get warmer than northeast ND does in the daytime due to this "warming effect" from the pine trees.
In the majority of cases....the climatology track of arctic high pressure systems come down from Northern Alberta then to Central Sask and then into western ND to central SD with the coldest of airmass just along and just east of this track.
Regarding Montana....yeah the arctic fronts can slip quickly down the front range into central and eastern Montana and they can get very cold. But the cold doesnt last very long as usually a day or two after the cold shot winds turn to the southwest and a chinnook develops as winds downslope off the rocky mountain front range...thus sending temps way back up. This warming chinnok flow can reach as far as southwestern half of north dakota and western and central South Dakota before it runs out...
Now the deep valleys of the Rockies like west Yellowstone....Big Piney WY and then to places like Gunnison and Alamosa Colorado can get the very cold air trapped in the deep valleys and get very cold at night...but they can get a bit warmer than areas in ND/nw MN during the day due to the effect of the pine trees prevelant in the area as the green pine trees absorb the suns energy allowing treed areas to get warmer than otherwise would be the case.
In our local area...the Prairie open land over northeast ND and far nw MN has a very hard time warming up during the day when we have snowcover and a fresh arctic airmass as all that sun reflects right off the white snow and there are no pine trees to absorb the suns heat. We often see Northeast Minnesota such as Embarass get extremely cold at night but get warmer than northeast ND does in the daytime due to this "warming effect" from the pine trees.
In the majority of cases....the climatology track of arctic high pressure systems come down from Northern Alberta then to Central Sask and then into western ND to central SD with the coldest of airmass just along and just east of this track.
Dan
Meteorologist Grand Forks ND/EGF MN
Thanks a lot Dan for that explanation. That clears up a couple things in my mind. I wondered about places like Gunnison and why they got so cold, yet their averages aren't as cold as NE Nodak. Question, do the chinnok winds reach Williston? A guy at work who went to school in Bozeman said they don't reach that far. I figured they reached to almost Minot.
Thanks, Dan, for that info! You definitely answered my question. There's actually a place named "Embarrass" in Minnesota?! I just looked it up, and discovered that their all-time lowest temperature was -57 degrees on February 2nd, 1996. I can't even imagine cold that severe!
HighPlainsDrifter, you made an excellent point about averages being more important than temperature drops at any given time. Some places actually meet both criteria - like Death Valley at the other end of the spectrum!
Yes~Embarass is always in the running for the icebox of the nation. If often comes out on top.
I'll bet you're thinking about the area by Cut Bank, Montana. They have some pretty rough weather, too.
Such informative posts that I have to reread them again. Now to remember the info.
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You definitely answered my question. There's actually a place named "Embarrass" in Minnesota?! I just looked it up, and discovered that their all-time lowest temperature was -57 degrees on February 2nd, 1996. I can't even imagine cold that severe!
