Coldest Major City in USA

[monsoon]

In the million plus metro size group of cities, what is the coldest city in the United States?

[Allan]

I believe that statistically Chicago is slightly cooler than Detroit during the winter months. Minneapolis is the coldest of the major cities, although it is not really that much colder than Chicago or Detroit.

[bobliocatt]

Out of these, probably Minneapolis. Out of a million plus US metros, I'd say Buffalo.

[Cotuit]

I would guess Minneapolis. Boston isn't really that cold the ocean moderates the climate.

[wolfdawg54]

I would say that either Detroit or Minnesota are the coldest cities because they are both in the plains states where it gets really cold during the winter.

[PghUSA]

Buffalo probably is, Minneapolis is close and I wouldn't be surprised if Detroit, Chicago and Boston are contenders with the lake effect (or ocean effect in Boston) keeping it cold long after it started to warm up.

[Spartan]

Minneapolis definately. That part of the country gets very cold.

If you had listed Fairbanks, I would have chosen that.

[Cotuit]

If you had listed Fairbanks, I would have chosen that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But Fairbanks doesn't have a million+ metro.

[Dougw]

Definitely Minneapolis of the million+ metro areas. In fact, I think Minneapolis is a bit colder than Buffalo. (Buffalo gets a lot more snow, though, from the lake-effect.)

Then Chicago & Detroit are basically tied after that.

[ATLman1]

Detroit has to be the coldest. I am just glad I'm not there. Atlanta is the place to be!

[PghUSA]

You never think of Seattle as being the COLDEST, but isn't it the most northern major metro in the lower 48?

Also I was thinking Denver would probably give any city a run for its money, remember the Shining? Being a mile high means its gets real cold real quick and stays that way.

[Spartan]

I know peopl in Anchorage and they say that it actually gets colder in Minneapolis.

[urban addict 20324]

I think Minneapolis is the coldest major city and all other Great Plains cities above latitude 45 during the winter; it's like -40C when there's an Arctic air blast. But then, in summer, it can be hot also since these cities are inland and have a continental climate. In summer, the west coast cities like Seattle and SF have fog blowing in from the ocean, so it could be 18C near the coastline and 35C only 90km inland, so I think they are the coldest in summer. That's why SF is named the air-conditioned city of the US, good news for those who want to escape the heat inland. I dunno if there are very high altitude major cities where it's cool and cold all year in the USA.

[Brickell]

http://www.brookings.edu/press/review/fal2003/hill.htm

How cold are Russia's cities? A comparison with Canada and the United States is instructive.

A list of the 100 coldest Russian and North American cities with populations of more than 100,000 would have 85 Russian, 10 Canadian, and 5 U.S. cities. The first Canadian city to appear on the list (Winnipeg) would be in 22nd place. The coldest U.S. city (Fargo, North Dakota) would rank 58th.

Americans are accustomed to thinking of Alaska as the ultimate cold region. But Anchorage, Alaska, would not appear on a list of the coldest Russian and North American cities of more than 100,000 until position number 135, outranked by no fewer than 112 Russian cities. The explanation for this result is not that Alaska isn't cold. It is. It's just that Americans don't build large cities there. (In fact, Anchorage is the only city in Alaska with a population greater than 100,000).

For really large cities, things are even more skewed. The United States has only one metropolitan area-Minneapolis-St. Paul-with more than half a million people that has a mean January temperature colder than-8 Celsius (18 Fahrenheit). Russia has 30 cities that big and that cold.

[PghUSA]

Great points, Most of Russia is built on latitudes that are north of even the territories in Canada, I believe the land mass actually crosses the Arctic Circle for much of Russia's length. It would be similar if Edmonton Alberta was a "temperate" metro and most of our big cities were on the sam latitude as Fairbanks, Nome etc. Russia beat Genghes Kahn, Napolean and Hitler by the winters not by their strength

[urban addict 20324]

I dunno where I heard this from, but it's said that sending prisoners to Siberia to live is a death sentence. Why? Siberia temperatures in January are like -50C or lower, the winds are furious, so the wind chills drop into -60C, -70C or lower, the snow is frozen hard (no water), and long blizzards frequently rage across this inhospitable region. At -55C, if you throw a hot, boiling water into the air, it freezes before it hits the ground so you better bundle up if you want to visit that area.

[PghUSA]

Siberia really is cold hell, the "gulags" both under the czars and even worse under the communists (especially Stalin and Brehzenv (sp)) were a struggle to just survive. In the summer months what isn't tundra in Siberia actually turns into swamps and mesquitos are EVERYWHERE, if you think about it all the water that falls on central Asia can't flow south over the Himilayas so it flows north, you have basically a frozen Louisana (collecting water from the Missouri, Ohio and Mississippi rivers) you have hundreds of rivers out there all flowing north to the Arctic ocean, so basically its 10 months of freezing and 2 months of the everglades without repellant. Now we know why nobody books vacation time up there

[BrandonTO416]

Minneapolis is the coldest major city in the USA, hands down.

BTW, I wouldn't call Siberia 2 months of Louisiana, its not close to that exactly. LOL

Then again, what would be worse, dealing with Gulags or Louisiana heat?

[monsoon]

Very true about Siberia. It is probably one of the worst places on the planet to live. Cities are located there that otherwise would have never been built but Soviet Central planning cared litte about cost and more about controlling people.

The coldest large city in the world is Norilsk. It is located well within the Arctic Circle and makes Minneapolis look like Miami in comparison. If it wasn't for the Soviets, a city such as this would have never been built.

[BrandonTO416]

Your images aren't loading.

[Spartan]

http://www.brookings.edu/press/review/fal2003/hill.htm

Americans are accustomed to thinking of Alaska as the ultimate cold region. But Anchorage, Alaska, would not appear on a list of the coldest Russian and North American cities of more than 100,000 until position number 135, outranked by no fewer than 112 Russian cities. The explanation for this result is not that Alaska isn't cold. It is. It's just that Americans don't build large cities there. (In fact, Anchorage is the only city in Alaska with a population greater than 100,000).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How miserable. You can sure tells its a Soviet thing though.

Anchorage is warmed up by the ocean currents (the same one that keeps seattle so mild all year). I'm not saying its not cold as hell, but not as much as Fairbanks. Air over landmasses always gets colder than air over water because land transfers energy faster- its why Siberia and Antarcitca are colder than the Arctic. Its why the central sections of N America (around Minneapolis and lower central Canada) can be colder than Anchorage.

[Spartan]

Your images aren't loading.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mine wouldn't load either. Just click on the "user posted image" or the red X (depending on what browser you have) and click "View Image." I got it to work that way.

[PghUSA]

About the Siberia is Louisiana thing, only referring to the waterflow, no for 2-3months of summer Siberia isn't turned into New Orleans, just saying that most of Central Asia's rivers flow right up in there, similiar draining as Louisiana collecting water from Ohio, Kansas, Minnesota etc. that's why most of the state is a swamp or bayou, the central U.S. drains there, similar to how Central Asia drains into Siberia. Only real similiarity is with the water flow, hope nobody goes up there for Mardi Gras or anything When stating the mosquito problem and the way things just sink and get bogged down in the few summer months people don't think of that as Siberia but it is (as well as parts of Alaska and Canada) when all that ice and tundra melts you have a huge river delta that is draining a third of a continent. The summers are as bad as the winters.

Good point on the Soviets, although they perfected the gulag and even legit immigration into Siberia, the czars invented it. Then again its always been man's quest to go out there and settle the wilderness, some of those cities though remind me more of an ice shelf settlement in the southpole.

[Brickell]

sorry I should have bolded this part. My point wasn't to bring in Siberia to the equation just show that this question does have a real answer.

For really large cities, things are even more skewed. The United States has only one metropolitan area-Minneapolis-St. Paul-with more than half a million people that has a mean January temperature colder than-8 Celsius (18 Fahrenheit). Russia has 30 cities that big and that cold.

[PghUSA]

^^ true that, Minneapolis would be a great answer (I think it is #1) but I would think Denver would tie it--the higher the elevation the colder it is. And remember why NO ONE could save the boy from Jack Nicholson and Olive Oil? Cause everybody left since its too cold to operate a SKI RESORT in winter!?! Thats cold man. Denver might not be up that high but those Rockies are scary in the winter.