Heat Records | Temperatures Reaching New Heights
Several heat records can be surprising, interesting, and unfortunately deadly. Learn more here…
Heat can be very dangerous for people who are caught in it, with much higher risks of heatstroke and dehydration. Heat waves can be especially dangerous for people who are not used to those temperatures. There are several unusual and record-breaking heat events, with temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Washington, and temperatures so high that you have to stay inside in desert areas. Learn more about heat records in this post.
This post is all about heat records.
Sweltering Heat Records
Hottest Temperature Ever Recorded (U.S. & World)
The first section of this post will be the most basic heat record, which is the hottest temperature ever recorded. The official hottest temperature ever recorded was in Death Valley on July 10, 1913. The temperature recorded there was 134.1°F. The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth outside of the U.S. was in the African country of Tunisia in 1931, with temperatures reaching 131°F. Quick Fact: The hottest temperature recorded in Europe was recorded just as recently as August 11, 2021.
Lowest Recorded Temperature
According to the ASU World Meteorological Organization’s World Weather and Climate Extremes Archive, the lowest recorded temperature on Earth was on July 21, 1983, in Vostok, Antarctica. The recorded temperature there on that day was -89.2°C (-128.6°F). The lowest recorded temperature in the U.S. according to FOX Weather was -80°F in Prospect Creek, AK on January 23, 1971. The coldest recorded temperature in the continental U.S. was -69.7°F in Rogers Pass, MT on January 20, 1954.
Hottest City in the U.S. & World
The hottest city in the world is Death Valley, CA with an average summer high temperature of 120°F. Death Valley reached its all-time high temperature of 134.1°F in 1913, making it the hottest official temperature ever recorded on Earth. The hottest city in the world outside of the U.S. is in second place, Kebili, Tunisia. Kebili doesn’t only have temperatures in the summer going over 40-50 degrees Celsius, but in the winter, it can also get frigid with it getting well below freezing.
Coldest City in the U.S. & World
The coldest city in the world isn’t in the U.S. just like some of the other records, but in a new country on this list, Russia. The city is Yakutsk, Russia, with an average February temperature of -36.1°C or -32.98°F. The all-time low in this city was -64.4°C or -83.92°F. The coldest city in the U.S. is 6th place in the world, which is far back compared to other U.S. heat records. The coldest city in the U.S. is Utqiagvik, AK with an average February temperature of -23.8°C or -10.84°F. The lowest recorded temperature in this Alaskan city is -48.9°C or -56.3°F.
Deadliest, Hottest, and Longest-Lasting Heatwaves
The last section of this post will be about the deadliest heat waves, hottest heat waves, and longest-lasting heat waves. The deadliest heat wave was the 2003 European heat wave causing over 70,000 deaths because the citizens were unable to adapt to temperatures exceeding 46°C (114.8°F). The most intense heat wave ever recorded was actually in Antarctica, with temperatures getting up to 104°F above normal. The last heat record of this post will be the longest-lasting heatwave. For this record, I will take the longest stretch of >=100 ever recorded. This record goes to Yuma, AZ with 101 continuous days with at least 100°F temperatures reached in 1937.
