Top 10 cities with least weather variety
Based on temperature variation, precipitation, wind, severe weather
1. San Francisco, California
2. San Diego, California
3. Los Angeles, California
4. Santa Barbara, California
5. Eureka, California
6. Long Beach, California
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
8. Santa Maria, California
9. San Luis Obispo, California
10. Kahului, Hawaii
Top 10 hail prone cities
Based on frequency and severity of hail
1. Tulsa, Oklahoma
2. Amarillo, Texas
3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
4. Wichita, Kansas
5. Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas
6. Arlington, Texas
7. Denver, Colorado
8. Colorado Springs, Colorado
9. Shreveport, Louisiana
10. Kansas City, Missouri / Kansas
Top 10 Tropical storm / Hurricane prone cities
Average # of years with no storm. Totals based on data from 1871- 2007, hitting within 60 miles of the city
1. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
2.49
2. Delray Beach, Florida
2.54
3. Hollywood, Florida
2.58
4. Deerfield Beach, Florida
2.58
5. Boca Raton, Florida
2.58
6. Florida City, Florida
2.63
7. Grand Isle, Louisiana
2.63
8. Ft. Pierce, Florida
2.69
9. Miami, Florida
2.69
10. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
2.69
Top 10 Tornado states
Avg number of tornadoes per 10,000 square
miles, occurring from 1953-2004
1. Florida
9.4
2. Oklahoma
8.2
3. Kansas
6.7
4. Iowa
6.6
5. Illinois
6.2
6. Indiana
6.1
7. Mississippi
5.7
8. Maryland
5.7
9. Louisiana
5.6
10. Texas
5.2
Top 10 Thunderstorm cities
Avg annual number of thunderstorms
1. Fort Myers, Florida
89
2. Tampa, Florida
87
3. Tallahassee, Florida
83
4. Gainesville, Florida
81
5. Orlando, Florida
80
6. Mobile, Alabama
79
7. W. Palm Beach, Florida
79
8. Lake Charles, Louisiana
76
9. Daytona Beach, Florida
75
10. Vero Beach, Florida
75
Top 10 Tornado prone cities
Ranked by tornadoes per 1,000 miles
1. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2. Tulsa, Oklahoma
3. Dallas – Ft. Worth, Texas
4. Wichita, Kansas
5. Springfield, Missouri
6. Kansas City, Kansas / Missouri
7. Ft. Smith, Arkansas
8. Little Rock, Arkansas
9. Jackson, Mississippi
10. Birmingham, Alabama
Top 10 Earthquake prone states
# of earthquakes in the last 30 years
centered in the state
1. Alaska
2. California
3. Hawaii
4. Nevada
5. Washington
6. Idaho
7. Wyoming
8. Montana
9. Utah
10. Oregon
10 all-time hottest temperatures
Obtained from state temperature
records, NCDC
1. Death Valley, California
134
2. Lake Havasu, Arizona
128
3. Laughlin, Nevada
125
4. Lakewood, New Mexico
122
5. Alton, Kansas
121
6. Steele, North Dakota
121
7. Ozark, Arkansas
120
8. Tipton, Oklahoma
120
9. Seymour, Texas
120
10. Usta, South Dakota
120
10 all-time coldest temperatures
Obtained from state temperature
records, NCDC
1. Prospect Creek, Alaska
-80
2. Rogers Pass, Montana
-70
3. Peters Sink, Utah
-69
4. Riverside, Wyoming
-66
5. Maybell, Colorado
-61
6. Tower, Minnesota
-60
7. Parshall, North Dakota
-60
8. Island Park Dam, Idaho
-60
9. McIntosh, South Dakota
-58
10. Couderay, Wisconsin
-55
10 hottest cities
Average annual temperature, F
1. Key West, Florida
77.7
2. Miami, Florida
75.6
3. W Palm Beach, Florida
74.6
4. Ft. Myers, Florida
73.9
5. Yuma, Florida
73.9
6. Brownsville, Texas
73.6
7. Orlando, Florida
72.4
8. Vero Beach, Florida
72.4
9. Corpus Christi, Texas
72.1
10. Tampa, Florida
72.0
10 coldest cities
Average annual temperature, F
1. International Falls, Minnesota
36.4
2. Duluth, Minnesota
38.2
3. Caribou, Maine
38.9
4. Marquette, Michigan
39.2
5. Sault Ste Marie, Michigan
39.7
6. Fargo, North Dakota
40.5
7. Williston, North Dakota
40.8
8. Alamosa, Colorado
41.2
9. Bismarck, North Dakota
41.3
10. St. Cloud, Minnesota
41.4
10 driest cities
Avg annual precipitation in inches
1. Yuma, Arizona
2.65
2. Las Vegas, Nevada
4.19
3. Bishop, California
5.61
4. Bakersfield, California
5.72
5. Phoenix, Arizona
7.11
6. Alamosa, Colorado
7.13
7. Reno, California
7.49
8. Winslow, Arizona
7.64
9. El Paso, Texas
7.82
10. Winnemucca, Nevada
7.82
10 wettest cities
Avg annual precipitation in inches
1. Hilo, Hawaii
128.00
2. Quillayute, Washington
104.50
3. Astoria, Oregon
69.60
4. Blue Canyon, California
67.87
5. Mobile, Alabama
64.64
6. Tallahassee, Florida
64.59
7. Pensacola, Florida
61.16
8. New Orleans, Louisiana
59.74
9. W Palm Beach, Florida
59.72
10. Miami, Florida
59.55
10 snowiest cities
Avg annual precipitation in inches
1. Blue Canyon, California
240.8
2. Marquette, Michigan
128.6
3. Sault Ste Marie, Michigan
116.7
4. Syracuse, New York
111.6
5. Caribou, Maine
110.4
6. Mount Shasta, California
104.9
7. Lander, Wyoming
102.5
8. Flagstaff, Arizona
99.9
9. Sexton Summit, Oregon
97.8
10. Muskegon, Michigan
97.0
10 windiest cities
Avg annual wind speed in mph
1. Blue Hill Observatory, Massachusetts
15.4
2. Dodge City, Kansas
14.0
3. Amarillo, Texas
13.5
4. Rochester, Minnesota
13.1
5. Casper, Wyoming
12.9
6. Cheyenne, Wyoming
12.9
7. Great Falls, Montana
12.7
8. Goodland, Kansas
12.6
9. Boston, Massachusetts
12.5
10. Lubbock, Texas
12.4
10 sunniest cities
Annual percent of possible sunshine
1. Yuma, Arizona
90%
2. Las Vegas, Nevada
85%
3. Phoenix, Arizona
85%
4. Tucson, Arizona
85%
5. El Paso, Texas
83%
6. Flagstaff, Arizona
79%
7. Fresno, California
79%
8. Reno, Nevada
79%
9. Sacramento, California
78%
10. Albuquerque, N.M.
76%
10 cloudiest cities
Avg number of cloudy days per year
1. Astoria, Oregon
240
2. Quillayute, Washington
240
3. Olympia, Washington
229
4. Seattle, Washington
227
5. Portland, Oregon
223
6. Kalispell, Montana
213
7. Binghamton, New York
212
8. Beckley, West Virginia
211
9. Elkins, West Virginia
211
10. Eugene, Oregon
209
10 most humid cities
Avg relative humidity in %
1. Quillayute, Washington
83.0
2. Olympia, Washington
78.0
3. Port Arthur, Texas
77.5
4. Lake Charles, Louisiana
77.0
5. Apalachicola, Florida
76.5
6. Gainesville, Florida
76.5
7. Corpus Christi, Texas
76.0
8. Eugene, Oregon
75.5
9. New Orleans, Louisiana
75.5
10. Houston, Texas
75.0
10 least humid cities
Avg relative humidity in %
1. Las Vegas, Nevada
30.5
2. Phoenix, Arizona
37.0
3. Yuma, Arizona
38.0
4. Tucson, Arizona
39.0
5. El Paso, Texas
42.5
6. Albuquerque, New Mexico
44.5
7. Winslow, Arizona
46.0
8. Grand Junction, Colorado
48.0
9. Winnemucca, Nevada
48.5
10. Reno, Nevada
50.5
10 rainiest cities
Number of days per year with rain
1. Hilo, Hawaii
277
2. Quillayute, Washington
210
3. Astoria, Oregon
191
4. Elkins, West Virginia
171
5. Syracuse, New York
171
6. Buffalo, New York
169
7. Marquette, Michigan
168
8. Sault Ste Marie, Michigan
166
9. Erie, Pennsylvania
165
10. Binghamton, New York
162
10 least rainiest cities
Number of days per year with rain
1. Yuma, Arizona
17
2. Las Vegas, Nevada
26
3. Bishop, California
29
4. Santa Barbara, California
30
5. Long Beach, California
32
6. Los Angeles, California
35
7. Great Falls, Montana
35
8. Phoenix, Arizona
36
9. Bakersfield, California
37
10. San Diego, California
42
Largest annual temperature variation
Change in average temperature between
summer and winter
1. Fairbanks, Alaska
90.8
2. Bettles, Alaska
90.0
3. International Falls, MN
88.8
4. Fargo, North Dakota
87
5.Williston, North Dakota
86.6
6. Aberdeen, South Dakota
86.5
7. McGrath, Alaska
86.2
8. Bismarck, North Dakota
86.1
9. Alamosa, Colorado
85.9
10. St. Cloud, Minnesota
85
10 most uncomfortable cities
Average combination of summer heat and humidity
1. Phoenix, Arizona
2. Corpus Christi, Texas
3. San Antonio, Texas
4. Dallas, Texas
5. West Palm Beach, Florida
6. Miami, Florida
7. Waco, Texas
8. Houston, Texas
9. Montgomery, Alabama
10. New Orleans, Louisiana
Top 10 clean air cities
Based on long-term particle pollution
1.Cheyenne, Wyoming
2. Santa Fe, New Mexico
3. Honolulu, Hawaii
4. Great Falls, Montana
5. Tucson, Arizona
6. Anchorage, Alaska
7. Farmington, New Mexico
8. Bismarck, North Dakota
9. Albuquerque, New Mexico
10. Rapid City, South Dakota
Top 10 dirty air cities
Based on long-term particle pollution
1. Los Angeles, California
2. Bakersfield, California
3. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4. Visalia, California
5. Fresno, California
6. Detroit, Michigan
7. Hanford, California
8. Cleveland, Ohio
9. Atlanta, Georgia
10. Chicago, Illinois
Best cities for allergies
Based on pollen counts from 1999-2002
1. Grand Rapids, Michigan
2. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
3. Seattle, Washington
4. San Francisco, California
5. Minneapolis, Minnesota
6. Chicago, Illinois
7. Syracuse, New York
8. Salt Lake City, Utah
9. Los Angeles, California
10. Denver, Colorado
Worst cities for allergies
Based on pollen counts from 1999-20002
1. Kansas City, Mo/Ks
2. Louisville, Kentucky
3. Tampa/St. Pete, Florida
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma
5. Atlanta, Georgia
6. Austin, Texas
7. St. Louis, Missouri
8. Sacramento, California
9. Orlando, Florida
10. Indianapolis, Indiana
Chart data sources: The National Climatic Data Center, Riskmeter Online, Hurricane City, Weatherpages.com,
National Lung Association, Sperling’s Best Places
Interesting U.S. weather facts
Through August 2007, the U.S. experienced its hottest year ever. During the month of August, more than 8,000 new heat maximum and minimum records were set or tied across the country.
In Hawaii, where surface temperatures are always above 50F, there is snow. Between 1 and 2 feet of snow falls each year in the mountains above 5,000 feet.
The coldest football game ever played was the NFL Championship Game on December 31, 1967 in Green Bay, Wisconsin between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys when the temperature fell to -13. The 2007 NFC Championship game in Green Bay between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers was the third coldest game in history with a temperature of -1 and wind chill of -23.
The longest rain-free period in the United States was 767 days (2 years, 37 days), from October 3, 1912 to November 8, 1914 at Bagdad, California.
A world record rainfall occurred at Holt, Missouri on June 22, 1947 when it rained 12 inches in just 42 minutes. This averages to over 1/4 of an inch of rainfall per minute. On July 4th, 1956 In Unionville, Maryland 1.23 inches of rain fell in 1 minute.
The average yearly temperature of New York, St. Louis and San Francisco differs by only 1.8F degrees.
Which is the least rainy city – Seattle, New York City or Miami? Although on average Seattle is cloudy 227 days a year, it only receives 39 inches of rain per year, compared to New York City (42 inches) and Miami (60 inches)
Is Chicago really “The Windy City?” Of the 262 major weather reporting stations in the United States, 27% or 72 stations average higher annual wind speeds than Chicago, which averages 10.3 mph. For example, New York City’s annual wind speed is 12.2 mph.
Due to Florida’s proximity to the equator, the state receives more than a hundred times the UV exposure that Maine does.
Cheyenne, Wyoming averages the most hail storms in the United States per year with 10 and Tulsa, Oklahoma experiences the most severe hail storms annually.
The United States leads the world with an average of over 1,000 reported tornadoes each year. A distant second is Canada with an average of approximately 100 reported tornadoes.
Kansas has received the most F5 tornadoes since 1880. Oklahoma encounters the highest number of significant and violent tornadoes per square mile.
Of the total reported tornadoes in the United States each year, 20 can be expected to be F5 tornadoes with winds over 200 mph and nearly complete destruction.
