All-time record cold lows in all 50 states

So far this winter we’ve seen several bouts of shivering Arctic air across the United States, but getting anywhere close to all-time record cold temperatures in any state is a rare feat.

The lower 48 records range from minus 2 degrees to minus 70 degrees. The chart below shows the coldest temperature on record in each state, according to NOAA. These record-low benchmarks range from single digits and 10 degrees below zero in some southeastern states and Delaware to minus 60 and minus 70 degrees in parts of the northern Plains and Rocky Mountains.

Even Florida experienced subfreezing temperatures, with Tallahassee plunging to minus 2 degrees during the most brutal U.S. cold outbreak on record in February 1899. Montana is the coldest in continental U.S. history, dropping to minus 70 degrees at Rogers Pass on Jan. 20. 1954.

(​MORE: The most extreme cold outbreaks in the USA)

Alaska holds the all-time US record. On January 23, 1971, the mercury fell to 80 degrees below zero in Prospect Creek north of Fairbanks.

Hawaii is the only state that does not record temperatures below zero: The coldest temperature recorded in Hawaii was 12 degrees on May 17, 1979 at the Mauna Kea Observatory at an elevation of 13,796 feet.

The most recent record on the list was set on January 31, 2019 in Mount Carroll, Illinois, when the temperature reached minus 38 degrees.

Celebrities by Region

-Midwest: An interesting but not unexpected observation is the difference in temperature records between states south of the Great Lakes and those near and northwest of the Great Lakes. Illinois, Indiana and Ohio all have records in the 30 degrees below zero range, while Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa have records in the minus 45 to minus 55 range.

-Northeast: Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont all recorded 50 degrees below zero as the coldest temperature. New York has the coldest record in the region at 52 degrees below zero and Delaware has the warmest record at minus 17 degrees.

-South: The records are colder than one would expect in this region. South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana all fell to freezing, while in Tennessee the mercury dropped as low as minus 32.

-West: Height makes a difference, as does the location inside. Rogers Pass, Montana, which holds the record for the coldest temperature in the Lower 48 at 70 degrees below zero, rises to an elevation of 5,610 feet above sea level and sits on the Continental Divide. In Arizona, the record of minus 40 degrees was set at Hawley Lake at an elevation of 8,200 feet.

Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist at Weather.com for over 10 years, having started his career at The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.

Linda Lam is senior meteorologist at Weather.com. Growing up in Massachusetts, she developed a fascination with winter storms and hurricanes, which led her to pursue a career in meteorology.