While our weather has finally turned a little more seasonal lately, earlier this week it was pretty cold. Which makes sense, seeing as Rochester is one of the 50 Coldest Cities in the U.S.

Detroit Deals With Heavy Snow And Bitter Cold
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It's not surprising, I guess, is it? I mean, earlier this week our overnight low hit 7 degrees above zero. In mid-November. That's what an overnight low should look like... in January!

So, yeah, we know it's pretty cold here. Colder than a lot of places in the country. In fact, according to 247wallstreet.com, Rochester is the 14th Coldest City in America! 14 out of 50-- that's pretty cold. Our cold weather stats look like this:

> Normal low in coldest month: 7.7° F
> Lowest temp. on record: -40° F
> Annual avg. snowfall: 44.8 in.
> Avg. wind speed: 12.2 mph

It shouldn't be surprising, though, considering that Minnesota placed four cities on the list.  And while #14 is pretty cold, Minneapolis (#12), St. Cloud (#7), and Duluth (#5) all ranked as colder cities than us here in Rochester.

To come up with these rankings, the survey looked at data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "24/7 Wall St. reviewed the minimum average temperature for the coldest month from 1981 to 2010 for every city with at least 10,000 residents with data from the NOAA," the site said.

Which all makes sense, given that we have a pretty long winter here in the Land of 10,000 (frozen) Lakes. "The coldest cities not only have the lowest temperatures, but also the longest winters. While winter is considered to last for about 90 days across much of the U.S., all of these cities have at least 120 days a year when temperatures drop below freezing," the site said.

Of course, keep in mind that our recent cold snap hit when it's not even officially winter yet! Somebody pass the hot cocoa, will ya?

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and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc

 

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