This Is The Lowest Temperature Ever Recorded In Minnesota

The Land of 10,000 Now Snow-and-Ice-Covered Lakes is no stranger to eyebrow-freezing winters, but one historic cold snap still stands above the rest. It was the kind of brutal, breath-stealing deep freeze that made even lifelong Minnesotans wonder why we still live here.

After two wimpy winters in a row, with very little snow to speak of and only a day or two of sub-zero temperatures, Old Man Winter seems to be back with a vengeance in Minnesota so far this year.

Powerful Arctic Air Mass Takes Aim at Minnesota

Much of the state has already seen several snowstorms this year, and now some powerful Arctic air is taking aim at many parts of Minnesota this weekend, setting up some frigid temperatures we don't usually see until late January or early February.

Minnesota’s Coldest Recorded Temperature Was Absolutely Historic

Of course, cold weather isn't new to Minnesota. In fact, according to the National Weather Service, noted that the actual air temperature, not the wind chill, dipped to 35 degrees below zero during a cold snap a few winters ago at the Evelyth-Virginia Airport north of Duluth. So, yeah, that's definitely cold.

But is that the coldest it's ever been in Minnesota? As it turns out, nope, it's not. Because to tie Minnesota's All-Time Record Low, the mercury will have to dip all the way down to 60 degrees BELOW ZERO. That's right, the coldest temperature ever recorded in the Land of 10,000 (Frozen) Lakes was -60°F, which happened up in Tower, Minnesota, back on February 2, 1996.

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How Minnesota’s Deep Freeze Compares to the Rest of the U.S.

According to the Minnesota DNR, the air mass that produced the record low at Tower nearly 30 years ago also produced bitterly cold temperatures across the rest of Minnesota. "The Twin Cities (at MSP airport) recorded -32 F, and has not recorded a temperature of -30 or colder since that time. International Falls bottomed out at -45 F," it noted. Rochester was a bit warmer during that stretch-- only hitting -20 F, a temp we matched back on Sunday, February 7th, 2021.

While we're proud of our ability to withstand such ridiculously cold weather, Minnesota doesn't hold the record for the coldest temperature in the U.S., though. The DNR says the national record is -80°F, set at Prospect Creek, Alaska. Even here in the lower 48 states, Montana (-70 F), Wyoming (-66 F), and Colorado (-61 F) have all recorded colder record lows than Minnesota.

Part of the reason we're able to withstand such bone-chilling cold temperatures is the fact that Minnesotans know what to do to keep warm-- and also what NOT to do. Keep scrolling to check out 13 Things You Should NEVER Do When It's Below Zero in Minnesota, as well as the Most Extreme Temperatures Ever Recorded in Every State!

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