Minnesota’s Most Extreme Temperatures in History

The temperatures across Minnesota seem ridiculously warm for the end of December! We're talking temperatures in the 40s for most of the state. That's crazy with Christmas being next week.

Yes, it's very abnormal for temperatures to be this high this time of year, but it's not a record high... is it?

ALSO READ: Minnesota's Highest Rated IPA of 2025

Minnesota's Warmest December

I did a little digging, and it appears, according to the Minnesota DNR, that the warmest it's been in December was just a couple of years ago, in 2023, when the highest temperature in Minnesota (which hit the Twin Cities, specifically) was 55 degrees. In December! Not great.

Get our free mobile app

So clearly, our 40-degree heat wave isn't close to record-breaking, but it's still far warmer than it should be this time of year. The average high in Minnesota in December, according to WanderLog, is 27 degrees.

With this abnormally warm weather, it got me thinking about our craziest temperature records in Minnesota. What's the hottest it's been? What about the coldest? I got some info from Stacker (who got their data from NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee) for us that answers those questions!

Minnesota's Most Extreme Temperatures

The temperature swing between the highest recorded temperature in Minnesota to the lowest recorded is a whopping 175 degrees.

Let's start with the warmest. The hottest it's ever been in Minnesota was on July 29th, 1917 in Beardsley.

On that day, Beardsley hit 115 degrees. Oof!

As for the coldest, that record was set on February 2, 1996 in Tower.

Tower hit a low temperature of -60 degrees that day. Without the wind factor! No thanks.

Speaking of crazy weather, below, you can take a peek at some of the most expensive weather and climate disasters that have hit the US in recent decades.