The Year in Heat & Cold
1986
-0.45°F
ran -0.45°F cooler than the 1996–2025 average across 360 cities — the 126th coldest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Coldest Day of 1986
-48.0°F
Bettles, AK · Nov 27
Hottest Day of 1986
119.0°F
Lake Havasu City, AZ · Jun 28
Records Set in 1986
Daily Cold Records Set
1,095
calendar-day record lows set in 1986 that still stand today
Daily Heat Records Set
1,232
calendar-day record highs set in 1986 that still stand today
Where the Year Ran Warm & Cold
Each city's 1986 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 1986 — 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.
+0.98J
-0.43F
+1.12M
+0.05A
-0.28M
-0.19J
-0.77J
-2.19A
-1.75S
-0.69O
-1.50N
-0.13D
Coolest Stations & States
Coolest Stations of 1986
| 1 | Barrow AK | -3.41°F |
| 2 | El Paso TX | -3.27°F |
| 3 | Mount Pocono PA | -2.93°F |
| 4 | Caribou ME | -2.86°F |
| 5 | Burlington VT | -2.39°F |
| 6 | Poughkeepsie NY | -2.30°F |
| 7 | Milton MA | -2.18°F |
| 8 | Sault Ste Marie MI | -2.15°F |
| 9 | Lumberton NC | -2.11°F |
| 10 | Millinocket ME | -2.11°F |
Warmest Stations of 1986
| 1 | Klamath Falls OR | +2.75°F |
| 2 | Omak WA | +2.00°F |
| 3 | Crescent City CA | +1.89°F |
| 4 | Great Falls MT | +1.81°F |
| 5 | Eureka CA | +1.72°F |
| 6 | Los Angeles Downtown CA | +1.63°F |
| 7 | Baker City OR | +1.58°F |
| 8 | La Crosse WI | +1.51°F |
| 9 | Goodland KS | +1.48°F |
| 10 | McCall ID | +1.45°F |
By State
Warmest states of 1986
Georgia+0.72°Wyoming+0.61°Kansas+0.57°Oregon+0.42°Colorado+0.36°Nebraska+0.28°
Coolest states of 1986
Vermont-2.39°Massachusetts-1.82°Connecticut-1.77°Utah-1.74°Maine-1.72°Rhode Island-1.66°
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