Chapter 3, Problem 1GST

To determine

The statistics used to identify the coldest city in the United States and at least three different ways to select the coldest city.

Answer to Problem 1GST

Some of the aspects that aid in finding the coldest city of the United States include the least minimum of the annual range of temperature, the least annual mean temperature, and the lowest monthly mean temperature. Oceans, altitude, and geographic position are some of the other criteria that are helpful in selecting the coldest city.

Explanation of Solution

The lowest monthly mean temperature, the least annual mean temperature, or the least minimum of the annual range of temperature are some of the important statistics that can be used to find the coldest city in the United States or any other country.

Severely cold winter temperatures can be experienced in the higher latitudes that lack the moderating effect of oceans. Moreover, the stations situated at higher altitudes are expected to be specifically cold.

All of these conditions may be applied to Prospect Creek, which is situated toward the north of the Arctic Circle in the Endicott Mountains of Alaska, where there is a temperature of about —80°F. A record of —70°F has been observed in the mountains at Roger Pass, Montana, in the lower 48 states, on January 20, 1954. It is to be noted that several other locations have also exhibited equally low or even lower temperatures. However, these were not marked as an official recording station.