The Year in Heat & Cold
2012
+1.30°F
ran +1.30°F warmer than the 1996–2025 average across 387 cities — the 154th coldest of 157 years on record.
Extremes
Coldest Day of 2012
-61.0°F
Bettles, AK · Jan 31
Hottest Day of 2012
120.0°F
Needles, CA · Jul 10
Records Set in 2012
Daily Cold Records Set
326
calendar-day record lows set in 2012 that still stand today
Daily Heat Records Set
2,194
calendar-day record highs set in 2012 that still stand today
Where the Year Ran Warm & Cold
Each city's 2012 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 2012 — 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.
+2.49J
+2.53F
+6.26M
+1.68A
+2.09M
+0.11J
+1.73J
+0.15A
-0.72S
-0.98O
-0.88N
+1.51D
Coolest Stations & States
Coolest Stations of 2012
| 1 | King Salmon AK | -5.94°F |
| 2 | Bethel AK | -5.91°F |
| 3 | St Paul Island AK | -4.85°F |
| 4 | Mcgrath AK | -4.76°F |
| 5 | Kotzebue AK | -4.75°F |
| 6 | Nome AK | -4.60°F |
| 7 | Bettles AK | -4.49°F |
| 8 | Fairbanks AK | -4.41°F |
| 9 | Homer AK | -4.35°F |
| 10 | Cold Bay AK | -4.24°F |
Warmest Stations of 2012
| 1 | Rochester MN | +4.80°F |
| 2 | Des Moines IA | +4.32°F |
| 3 | Holland MI | +3.84°F |
| 4 | Madison WI | +3.73°F |
| 5 | Topeka KS | +3.61°F |
| 6 | Columbia MO | +3.61°F |
| 7 | Omaha NE | +3.56°F |
| 8 | Baltimore Downtown MD | +3.56°F |
| 9 | Sioux Falls SD | +3.52°F |
| 10 | Ashland WI | +3.50°F |
By State
Warmest states of 2012
Minnesota+3.30°Missouri+3.17°Iowa+3.14°Wisconsin+3.06°Michigan+2.96°Illinois+2.96°
Coolest states of 2012
Alaska-3.84°Hawaii-0.77°Washington-0.27°Oregon-0.22°California-0.06°Florida+0.10°
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