Dear Tom,
Are all 50 states considered when determining the national temperature extremes?
Ted Fisk Naperville, Ill.
Dear Ted,
Only the lower 48 states are considered with Alaska and Hawaii excluded. If Alaska sites were included in the list, they would dominate the low extremes all winter. The National Weather Service has established guidelines that determine a site’s eligibility for the national extremes. The area must be no higher than 8,500 feet in elevation and have a population of at least 1,000. Exceptions are made to the population rule, when sparsely populated areas of the Desert Southwest top 120(degrees) during the summer. Several cities are frequent winners of the nation’s coldest title including Gunnison, Colo., Pellston, Mich., International Falls, Minn., Truckee, Calif., and Stanley, Idaho, just to name a few.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
