The blast of sub-zero temperatures over the last several days has many wondering: just how cold did it get?
According to KRTV Chief Meteorologist Ryan Dennis, -74° is the coldest confirmed wind chill that has been recorded in Montana so far during this Arctic outbreak; it was recorded at Judith Peak in Fergus County. The second coldest wind chill was -72° in Larslan, which is northeast of Glasgow in Valley County in northeastern Montana.
And the town of Chester west of Havre on the Hi-Line had the coldest air temperature in the contiguous U.S. on Saturday morning with a temperature of -54°.
Dennis noted that it may have been colder in Elk Park and Newlan Creek, but the temperature sensors in those locations stopped working once they got to -50°.
Here is a list of the new record lows that were set on Saturday, January 13, 2024, for the main climate locations within Montana.
Location: Saturday's Low Temp; (Old Record & Year)
- Billings: -26° (-22° in 1972 & 1997)
- Bozeman: -45° (-32° in 1997)
- Butte: -45° (-34° in 1997)
- Cut Bank: -41° (-36° in 1972)
- Dillon: -41° (-17° in 2007)
- Glasgow: -35° (-33° in 1916)
- Great Falls: -37° (-30° in 1911, 1971, & 1972)
- Hamilton: -38° (-17° in 1993)
- Havre: -42° (-35° in 1916, 1979, & 1997)
- Helena: -36° (-34° in 1888)
- Kalispell: -33° (-24° in 1972)
- Lewistown: -43° (-34° in 1972)
- Missoula: -22° (-17° in 1993)
Dennis also noted that on Friday, January 12, Great Falls recorded a temperature of -36°, which broke the old record low for that date of -35° which happened in 1916.
He added that the all-time record low in Great Falls was -43° in 1968.
And Montana is also home to the coldest air temperature ever recorded in the contiguous United States: -70°. It was recorded at Rogers Pass (several miles northeast of Lincoln) on January 20, 1954.
And for a little levity amidst the brutal cold, check out this video from Great Falls resident Holly Jacobs:
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