Which State In The Region Has The Most Extreme Weather?

It's been another frigid winter here in North Dakota, but how do we stack up against extreme weather seen in other parts of the region?

North Dakota

- All-time highest temperature: 121° F (Steele 4N on July 6, 1936)
- All-time lowest temperature: -60° F (Parshall on Feb. 15, 1936)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 8.1 inches (Litchville 2NW on June 29, 1975)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 27 inches (Minot International Airport on April 27, 1984)

Parshall became intolerably frigid in February 1936 at -60 degrees Fahrenheit. Interestingly, this recording was made by an unnamed coal-miner, who had volunteered to be a weather observer, with the help of a special (mercury-thallium alloy) thermometer.

Montana

- All-time highest temperature: 117° F (Glendive on July 20, 1893)
- All-time lowest temperature: -70° F (Rogers Pass on Jan.20, 1954)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 11.5 inches (Springbrook on June 20, 1921)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 48 inches (Millegan 14 SE on Dec. 27, 2003)

Montana's lowest temperature was recorded in 1954 at -70 degrees. But in early February 2019 and into the first week of March, Montana set a brand-new bone-chilling record for consecutive below-freezing days when Great Falls concluded its 32-day streak on March 8, 2019.

Minnesota

- All-time highest temperature: 115° F (Beardsley on July 29, 1917)
- All-time lowest temperature: -60° F (Tower 2S on Feb. 2, 1996)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 15.1 inches (Hokah Wastewater Treatment Plant on Aug. 19, 2007)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 36 inches (Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center on Jan.7, 1994)

Hokah, a city in Houston County, had the state's heaviest one-day rainfall on Aug. 19, 2007. The flood of 2007 claimed the lives of six people and resulted in nearby counties also going several feet underwater.

South Dakota

- All-time highest temperature: 120° F (Fort Pierre 17 WSW on July 15, 2006)
- All-time lowest temperature: -58° F (McIntosh 6 SE on Feb.17, 1936)
- All-time highest 24-hour precipitation: 8.74 inches (Groton on May 6, 2007)
- All-time highest 24-hour snowfall: 52 inches (Lead on March 14, 1973)

Record heat in 2006 resulted in the state's highest temperature in Fort Pierre, a city in Stanley County. The heat wave during July 2006 was so intense in South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska that it ended up disrupting transportation links and straining electric power grids.`

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