The idea of perfect weather is as crazy as the idea of a perfect world or a perfect anything. One person’s ideal weather is another’s worst day. The funny thing about weather is that some people enjoy what most of us consider the worst weather—snowstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes—we’ve had people ask us where to move to for the best place to see tornadoes, believe it or not. To help us answer the question of ìperfectî weather, we polled our Facebook fans. The consensus seemed to be for clear blue skies, low humidity, temperatures around 75°F, and a light wind. Yet others said snow and lots of it. So instead of picking perfect weather we’re picking far-from-perfect or “worst” weather.
In the 2002 Farmers’ Almanac, we decided to offer our picks for the 10 best and ten worst weather cities. The response was amazing. Many agreed, some disagreed, and others suggested cities we should have included on the list. To compile this list, we looked at temperatures, sky conditions, precipitation, humidity, and wind. This year we’re doing it again, but with a twist—we are looking at which cities have the worst winter weather and which have the worst summer weather.
The following list took a number of meteorological factors into consideration, as well as the population size of the cities. We set a limit of a population of at least 50,000 people. Interestingly, from our original “10 Worst” list of 2002, two cities, Syracuse and New Orleans, made it onto our Worst Weather lists this year. Here are our listings for the ten cities, five each with the worst winter and worst summer weather in the United States.
Worst Winter cities
1. SYRACUSE, NEW YORK “Cold,” “clammy,” “snowy” are three great ways to describe Syracuse weather—from October through April. Winter starts very early and lasts late, with plenty of snow and extremely cold temperatures. Winter daytime temperatures average in the lower 30s, with nighttime lows in the teens, but temperatures as low as minus 25°F have been recorded. Snow also makes winter uncomfortable in Syracuse, averaging almost 120 inches per season. During the winter of 2009–2010, Syracuse was again the winner of the prestigious “Golden Snowball Award,” celebrating the city with most snowfall for the winter in upstate New York, beating out such snowy cities as Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Binghamton. Syracuse also made our Farmers’ Almanac “10 Worst” list in 2002. Another reason why this city makes the worst winter weather list — December, January, and February are typically gloomy, with Syracuse receiving only onethird of the sunshine possible, because of considerable cloud cover.
2. DULUTH, MINNESOTA “Frigid” is how many describe Duluth. During the winter, it’s second only to International Falls (“The Icebox of the Nation”) in terms of rank among the nation’s coldest cities. The transition to bitter winter weather is dramatic. In October, the average high temperature is a comfortable 53°F. But by December, it has fallen to 22°F, and by January (the coldest month), it’s only 16°F. An example of how extreme the cold can get here is “The Great Cold Snap of 1996” (January 29 through February 5). During that time, Duluth recorded 164 consecutive hours of below zero (°F) temperatures. On February 2, the low temperature was minus 39°F and the high temperature was minus 21°F. Duluth receives nearly 80 inches of snow, much of it as a result of cold easterly winds flowing over the western tip of Lake Superior, producing local lake-effect snowfalls. But it’s the frigid cold that gets Duluth a spot on our Top 5 list.
3. CASPER, WYOMING Snow is common in this town and has occurred as early as September and as late as early June. The average daily winter temperature is 22°F, and on average, 181 days of the year have temperatures at or below 32°F. Casper is among the top five most windiest spots in the nation. The prevailing winter wind blows from the southwest, with the emphasis on “blows.” Some wind gusts have been clocked at over 60 m.p.h. The wind has knocked tractor-trailers off interstates. As one native put it: “In the winter we have snow followed by wind, wind followed by snow, and wind and snow together. In some places the snow never hits the ground but gets worn out by the wind.” And the late Jean Shepherd wrote: “Let me tell you, you’ve never been in a blizzard until you’ve been in a real Wyoming screamer. The snow was coming down so fast and hard that I felt I was driving through a white tunnel. It got colder and colder, and my windshield was freezing up faster than the defrosters could blow it off.
4. CLEVELAND, OHIO The earmarks of Cleveland winters are cold and snow. Typically, there are an average of five days with subzero temperatures. Mean annual snowfall increases, from west to east in Cuyahoga County, from 45 to 90 inches. Winds generally blow across Lake Erie from the west and cause localized snow squalls in the city’s eastern suburbs.
5. DETROIT, MICHIGAN The hardest thing to adjust to in a Motor City winter is not so much the cold or wintry precipitation, it is the lack of sunshine. Winter days in Detroit mean an abundance of cloudy, gloomy days. The sky seems to be perpetually gray. During the winter season, two out of every three days are overcast. Clear, sunny days occur, on average, just 13 percent of the time.
Check out what cities made our Worst Summer Cities
Do you have a worst winter weather city that should make the list? Tell us about it.
Caleb Weatherbee is the official forecaster for the Farmers' Almanac. His name is actually a pseudonym that has been passed down through generations of Almanac prognosticators and has been used to conceal the true identity of the men and women behind our predictions.
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
59 comments
Parish, NY resident here. Come up here to the Tug Hill Plateau. Back in 2007 we had over 130 inches of snow in 10 days. There were many times heading into work to syracuse that I would leave the house and drive through 3-4 feet of snow on the roadways plus snow falling at 5-8 inches per hour at the same time. Then you’d get just south of Central Square and it’d be clear as day.
It’s -13f (-24c) and with the wind factor it feels like -36f (-38c) in montreal….
Ahh…all of your comments about the coldness of the North and Mid-Eastern states makes me appreciate my beautiful San Joaquin Valley of Central California all the more! We have about two weeks of 20-30 degree nights during the winter, sometimes it snows & hails when it rains but very seldom, and the winter middays hover around 60. Guess what? We can take a 45 minute drive TO the snow for downhill skiing, sledding, cross-country skiing, hot chocolate in front of the huge fires at the lodges (especially in Yosemite)…then drive home and OUT of the snow & freezing cold. If it gets too cold we can drive to So Cal for warm sunny beaches. Winter only lasts about 3 months in the Valley then we burst wide open with gorgeous green Spring full of flowers & blossoms! Summers are wonderful for swimming, camping, hiking and the wonderful warm weather usually lasts from April to October. We have 3 months of Fall. This year it was warm on Thanksgiving Day! Yeah…I’m a California gal—all my life, and I will never move.
I have lived in Casper, WY most of my life, and aside from the constant and ever-present wind, we love it. The wind is awful, though. It actually tore the wall off our barn and blew it an acre away, over a barbed wire fence onto neighboring land. I’ve seen it blow semis off the interstate. I would rather have the wind than all the over-crowded cities in the world, though.
As for wind, and in considering it effects, you have not seen the wind blow until you have experienced it south of Cheyenne, Wyoming along the Interstate 25 corridor. I spent two years 26 miles south of Cheyenne superintending the steel erection on a coal fired powerhouse. I had the best raising gang I ever encountered in my career and thanks to them we got the job completed. The day after a blow at Rawhide there was literally nothing on the ground under the size of pea gravel and some of it was gone. I once drove I 25 south and stopped counting the overturned semi’s at 15… there were more. An employee opened the door to my pickup, the door was bent forward against the front fender and the windshield “went to Nebraska”. so to speak. I am sure the wind blows harder somewhere on this earth, but I for one ain’t going there to find out. Anyone that spent those two years there remembers… right Doug?
Mike
The wind stopped blowing once in Wyoming and we all fell down. LOL
I love Wyo!
I live in Central Square (20 mins north of Syracuse) and I love the change of seasons here, there is nothing better than an a foot of snow coming down and sitting in front of a roaring fire sipping hot chocolate. Try that in Dallas! When the sun shines, its a blessing and it lifts your spirits and brightens everyone’s mood. I lived in Southern California after college, boring, everyday is sunny, it gets old. Here is an adventure and besides after global warming kills all your awesome places to live, we will be just perfect! Our plow people teach other cities how to get rid of snow and our local drivers could be ice racers! Bring on the snow baby.
I know that the cold and snow can be horrible in many places in the lower 48. I am not about to comment that we have the worst winters, I just know from my experience, Wyoming winters are harsh, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! I complain just like most of us who live in Casper. But it truly has it beautiful moments too. We have always joked that if the wind stopped blowing here we would all fall over, and it’s about the truth. The wind makes the cold so much more bitter and harsh. But I think any Wyomingite could hold their own in any hurricane, lol. I love Wyoming.
I miss Wyoming n the weather
Wyo girl here… Yep it’s cold and windy for most of the year!! Wouldn’t trade it for anything
I’ve lived in Casper 32 years & have to agree with the wind part. When you’re driving straight forward but have to have your steering wheel turned full 1/4 or more just to continue going straight, you know it’s windy! And forget keeping a decent hairstyle!
The description of Syracuse winters is fairly accurate, but it didn’t mention the dreaded lake effect snows … a band of heavy, wet snow that blows in off the lakes (Ontario or Erie, take your pick) and can pile up pretty quickly. I remember it coming down a the rate of a foot an hour for an entire afternoon and my mom sent me out on a futile mission to shovel the driveway. I turned around to go back inside when I’d finished and found the driveway was already covered again! A couple of skiiers passed by and said they were headed to the grocery store before it (and the roads) closed, and could they get us anything? They came back with milk, bread and eggs … which was great because the roads ended up being closed for three days so the plows could come in. And that’s nothing compared to places like Mexico and Redfield, just north of Syracuse – they got over 12 feet of snow in a week a few years ago!
I’m 34 and lived all my life in south Louisiana. We have 12 months of summer lol! We might get 15 days a year of 25-30 degrees. Me and my family hate the heat. We have to move to Casper Wyoming in November for my job. What can I aspect? I love the cold!
Its true about Detroit or eastern MI its really cloudy alot and depressing I want to move back to OKC.
I moved to Casper, Wyoming for a job and it is by far the most miserable place I have ever spent a winter. The wind basically blows 25-30 mph sustained for nearly 6 months straight. I had to buy an Arctic expedition-weight parka just to spend time outdoors in the winter. And I never even owned a scarf before I moved here! If the economy didn’t suck so bad I would be working and living someplace else. As soon as I retire I’m out of here and I’ll collect my substantial Wyoming state employee pension in someplace warm and sunny!
Syracuse new york is the super bowl of snow as far as cities go with populations of 100,000 or more. Syracuse averages 121 inches of snow a season. thats our average not our all time high. right now syracuse is on top in the golden snow globe contest with 50 inches of snow. anchorage alaska sits at 25 inches of snow and minot north dakota isn’t even in the top 10. Minot north dakota only averages 40 inches of snow a season with a population of 36,000. you people say what about this place what about that place, this place is colder that place is colder, so than all I got to say is what about Oswego county? Mexico new york, Parish new york, Pulaski new york, REDFIELD NEW YORK-142 inches of snow in less than a week! sure there are places that are colder than Syracuse new york but c’mon people you dont have to shovel cold out of your driveway or off of your roof!
Casper is cold but the wind blows off the show and the chinooks warm things up.
The beautiful clear days looking over mountain vistas seem to warm it up over those winter days.
I grew up in Bismarck, ND, moved to Butte, MT and then Casper, Wyoming. Bismarck has way more snow, Butte is far colder. Casper has more wind. All three have long winters.
I was born and raised just up the North Shore of Lake Superior from Duluth, in Two Harbors. Left home in 1960, making 1959 my last winter in Minnesota. Until Now. I decided I wanted to spend a winter in Duluth so I am housesitting for my sister and am looking forward to taking a lot of great photographs of my favorite Winter Wonderland. Have snug, warm house with a nice picture window for watching the storms. Let it Snow!
If you like weather extremes, come to Wyoming. We probably get hurricane force winds more often than Florida, as much snow as Buffalo, as cold as Alaska, and as hot Arizona, all in one day. Awesome and beautiful!!
I ran from the Syracuse area as soon as I finished college. I know many up there love the winter activity, but I am not one of them. I enjoy having the war stories of growing up in Oswego County winters, but I’m not up for creating any more.
Casper is cold, bitter and unbearably windy. I love it, keeps that population in check! Lol! You Wyomingites know what I’m talking about!
I will never forget a snow storm dumped 68 inches in 48 hrs in the town of montague,ny. Which is 30 minutes north of syracuse,ny. This was following a noreaster and was just lake effect snow! Thanks for the sympathy, John
I guess most of the snow and temps we are used to(that’s if you grew up here)I have to admit we all become a little grumpy here in the winter because of the lack of sun in Syracuse.But instead of complaining most of us Syracusans embrace the time of year..there are so many things to do..ice skating…skiing…Winter fest..Poker run..snowmobiling….Hockey..also it gives time for families to be together….In my years and years of living here.I dont think I ever missed a day of work … .While other cities get 3 or 4 inches of snow and consider it a Blizzard..we consider that JUST a Dusting…Shoveling is a pain in the Butt but White Christmases are Beautiful!!!
I lived in duluth my whole life and I will 100 percent agree…but love it! It’s not winter until your nostrils freeze together!
I have to agree with Katie. We had a 3 day blizzard come in and our wind gauge clocked 126 mph, average speed for the 3 days was 96.6 mph. We live where you can get snowed in for weeks. Really different after New Orleans.
Very glad to hear from those from Syracuse who love the snow because you can ski, snow shoe, sled, whatever and have fun, instead of being gloomy about it. See you at Tog!
Hi K,
The Farmers’ Almanac only covers the continental United States. We have a separate edition for Canada, but Alaska and Hawaii are not covered in any edition. This list only includes cities within the lower 48 and, as other readers have pointed out below, with populations over 50,000. While there are many locations throughout the continental U.S. that are colder or have more snow than those listed here, we made a conscious decision to include only significant population centers within our normal coverage area.
What about Fairbanks Alaska Valdez Alaska, and Anchorage Alaksa. This list is bogus. Fairbanks rugularly hits -40 F, and Valdez measures snowfall in the feet. Anchorage isn’t as bad as either of the 2 previous. If this is the kind of list Farmers Almanac puts together, I wouldn’t trust anything in the book.
@KDK
No kidding with Minot! I’m a Wyoming native, and I now live in Grand Forks. I’d choose Wyoming winters over North Dakota winters any day! Grand Forks spends most of it’s winter (at least 6 months of it) with wind chills averaging -45. It’s usually -30 ambient November- March.
I came from WV, never owned boots, had maybe 6-8″s of snow a yr. I’ve been in Syracuse 48yrs. Dont mind the snow as long as the plows come through. We could use more sun but I hate the 90 degree days, would much rather have it 30 -80 degrees all the time. “Where would that be?)
I live in Casper, and I grew up in Minot. Yep, Minot is MUCH worse in the winter. At least in Casper we can go enjoy the winter up on the mountain, amazing Nordic trails, as well as downhill skiing, and snowmobiling.
As someone who lives in Cleveland, I would agree that our winter weather is not great, but I don’t really get why we’re on this list. Although, I’m originally from Moscow, Russia so maybe my perception is skewed. :/
LOL! It appears that many people apparently don’t know how to read AND comprehend. But, what else is new? As it was stated in the article, THEY LIMITED THEIR PICKS to a population of 50,000 people or more. Therefore, their “Top 10 List” will NOT include MOST of the places that have much worse winter weather. DUH!!!! Yes, that also makes their top 10 picks very pointless. But, that’s just how it is. All I can say is that if you don’t like the snow and cold, move south and quit yer bitchin’. LOL!
I’m from upstate NYS, and if the taxes didn’t bleed us dry so very badly, I’d honestly have to say that this may very well be one of the best places to live in the USA (pertaining to our overall moderate weather climate and beautiful seasonal changes).
But alas, state and property taxes have basically destroyed this state. Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer we can afford to live here. Been 35 years thus far, and over-taxation has only gotten worse. With the terrible economy, everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – has gotten more expensive, and wages have absolutely not kept up. Additionally, many jobs here pay well below national averages, as I’ve found in recent research. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still getting by – but barely.
Yay for Casper. I knew I had a reason for complaining about the obnoxiously short summers.
that and the plows here in syracuse make all the others look like an an f150. oh yeah, cause thats what alot of places use…. the highway plows they send down 81 are ridiculous. however the salt is terrible for the vehicles.
I used to call syracuse home,graduated from liverpool h.s. froze teaching skiing for many years.I live at Lake Tahoe now ,still teaching skiing.Much more snow,500 plus inches a year,nowhere near as cold and miserable,almost cloudless skies everyday.Powder not Ice!!!!!Dont miss those weeks of sub-zero temperatures…..
The wind in Casper Wyoming is way worse than 60 degrees on average, last winter our barometer clocked out at 120 mph and we don’t know how hard it was really blowing because our barometer stops at 120 mph. That same winter our neighbors windows were broken out on the west side of their house due to the wind picking up rocks. It’s way worse than the article says.
I grew up in Red Creek (about 45 mins west of Syracuse & 7 miles from Lake Ontario) which is notorious for it’s Lake Effect snowfall… My father worked in Syracuse for 35 years and I went to college for 3 in East Syracuse at LeMoyne. I’m still in the area and can vouch for the long winter, cold temperatures, high snowfall and especially the 1/3 amount of sunshine during Jan, Feb & March. This probably is one of the reasons why so many Central New Yorkers are due for babies in August, September & October! But, I love it anyways because when Spring, Summer & Fall hit, Syracuse & CNY truly has all four seasons. Upstate New York is beautiful!
Shame on you for saying such negative things about Buffalo. I grew up there and lived there for 46 years before “retiring” to Florida. Like anywhere, it has it’s good and bad points. But it’s my home town and it’s offensive to read such nasty comments. I hope you are happy wherever you are now.
Yea I remember jumping of the second story of my house in syracuse with no worries about breaking any bones due to the immense snow fall
Buffalo NY. Worst jobmarket, worst weather,( summer and winter), worst economy, worst people. Calls itself “city of good neighbors”. Worst lie.
Read the entire article before you suggest other places. “We set a limit of a population of at least 50,000 people.”
Yup, try anywhere in Oswego County (I’m in Mexico). We make it to national news pretty much every year.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17042993/
What about Columbus, OH? I lived there for 9 years and every single winter got worse. Then after 6-8 months of never ending snow and cold you have a cold and rainy summer, another topic but none the less a miserable city.
whoever did this has no idea what winter is. i live in minot, north dakota. i went to school in syracuse. syracuse was tropical in comparison
Syracuse is a 4 season wonder place…..I wonder why the seasons are 3/1 cold, cold,cold and warm…..but I still love this city! We are a hardy breed with warm hearts.
I have lived in Casper, Wyoming, for most of my life, and we often joke that summer here is on June 17th, and there are no springs or autumns. Winters here are cold, harsh, and fierce. However, they also have beautiful moments; like when the frost paints the trees with a diamond sheen that catches every particle of light within a mile, and when the air is so cold and still you can hear a horse snort in the barn 200 feet away. If you’re not a cold weather person, I’d suggest another address, but even if you aren’t, sometimes those early morning moments make the fact that your nose hairs are frozen, worth it after all.
Clearly the person who wrote this does not partake in winter sports. I love Syracuse winters. Turn on the snow machine, Mama wants to ski.
I grew up in Syracuse and went to college in Potsdam, NY (It’s a few minutes from the Canadian border). I think Potsdam is 10x worse than Syracuse in the winter. It seems most of the winter the college would have metal advisories because the wind chill would be -40 (during the day) and if you wore earrings or metal necklaces you most certainly would get frost bite. The cold was such a shock that if I went outside in the winter with wet hair, it would turn solid and then break off if I wasn’t careful. I don’t even want to mention what that cold would do to my snot in my nose. It was painful and bloody.
Water crisis, we have no water crisis, why because it snows here in the winter and rains in the Spring. In the end water is our most valuable resource.
Alright, Oneonta? I was raised in Syracuse and oddly enough schooled for 4 years in Oneonta… Dude, imagine that 4 feet of snow lasting from Oct-April. But not just that, 4 feet of snow, that half melts, that then refreezes, that gets even more snow on top of it. It’s almost near impossible to shovel.
To Cuse’ credit: The snow plow system/road salting is efficient and they have it down to a science.
Cold and snow is what we are known for in Minnesota. It snows from Mid Oct to Mid April, and genearlly teases us with flakes in Sep and May. With that said, we can have snow on the ground and freezing temps for over 8 months of the year….
Anybody ever hear of Fargo? No other description needed . . .
Jean Shepard should not have been using the defrosters on his windshield during the Wyoming blizzard, as this allows the windshield to more easily ice up. Better to keep the windshield as cold as possible to allow the wipers to more easily sweep the snow off.
As the title didn’t mention coldest cities in the USA how about a city that makes all of these look tropical? Yakutsk, Siberia! With a record low of – 83.9 F !!
Oneonta, NY has also had is’s share of very nasty weather.A few years ago we had a very bad snow storm on Christmas Day {4feet in my front yard)
Funny, this sounds like Utica, New York to me. Both cities do have a lot of good things going on but you did describe the winter correctly. Guess you have to love it to live there.
What about Green Bay WI? You know, the frozen tundra at Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers play football in single-digit tempatures.
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