The Year in Heat & Cold
1956
-1.44°F
ran -1.44°F cooler than the 1996–2025 average across 367 cities — the 64th coldest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Coldest Day of 1956
-55.0°F
Bettles, AK · Feb 29
Hottest Day of 1956
117.0°F
Needles, CA · Jun 27
Records Set in 1956
Daily Cold Records Set
1,641
calendar-day record lows set in 1956 that still stand today
Daily Heat Records Set
855
calendar-day record highs set in 1956 that still stand today
Where the Year Ran Warm & Cold
Each city's 1956 average temperature versus its 1996–2025 normal — blue where the year ran cool, red where it ran hot.
Hottest & Coldest at Every City
Each city's single hottest and coldest reading of 1956 — the number is the temperature, coloured hot-to-cold. Toggle between the two.
Month by Month
National temperature anomaly by month — red above the line is a warm month, blue below is cool.
-1.96J
-1.97F
-3.14M
-2.84A
-0.54M
-0.57J
-2.00J
-1.52A
-2.30S
+0.72O
-2.52N
+1.58D
Coolest Stations & States
Coolest Stations of 1956
| 1 | King Salmon AK | -8.51°F |
| 2 | Bettles AK | -7.95°F |
| 3 | Mcgrath AK | -7.82°F |
| 4 | Barrow AK | -7.57°F |
| 5 | Fairbanks AK | -7.17°F |
| 6 | Kotzebue AK | -7.01°F |
| 7 | Talkeetna AK | -6.94°F |
| 8 | Delta Junction AK | -6.86°F |
| 9 | Bethel AK | -6.77°F |
| 10 | Reno NV | -6.77°F |
Warmest Stations of 1956
| 1 | Kansas City MO | +2.28°F |
| 2 | Austin-Bergstrom Airport TX | +2.25°F |
| 3 | Stillwater OK | +2.16°F |
| 4 | McCook NE | +1.74°F |
| 5 | Hastings NE | +1.50°F |
| 6 | Hibbing MN | +1.50°F |
| 7 | Jefferson City MO | +1.45°F |
| 8 | Dequeen AR | +1.36°F |
| 9 | Childress TX | +1.31°F |
| 10 | Jonesboro AR | +1.30°F |
By State
Warmest states of 1956
Oklahoma+0.84°Missouri+0.54°Arkansas+0.28°Kansas+0.10°Nebraska+0.00°Mississippi-0.09°
Coolest states of 1956
Alaska-5.99°Vermont-3.75°Nevada-3.53°Puerto Rico-3.38°District of Columbia-3.02°New Hampshire-2.99°
Coldest Since · Browse all states · See where it's hottest → hottestsince.com
part of Weather Trader · supported by Substack Subscribers · data: NWS NDFD forecast + NOAA/ACIS ThreadEx records · updated 2026-07-12 22:52Z
© 2026 Weather Trader · All rights reserved
part of Weather Trader · supported by Substack Subscribers · data: NWS NDFD forecast + NOAA/ACIS ThreadEx records · updated 2026-07-12 22:52Z
© 2026 Weather Trader · All rights reserved