COLD (Record)

COLD (Record) On January 7,1887, Dubuque set a record low temperature of 32 degrees below zero. That record was also surpassed in 2019 when the temperature reached 31 degrees below zero. The lowest wind chill that night was 45 degrees below zero. (1) The coldest month on record was January 1912, with an average temperature of four degrees. The coldest year in city history was 1875 when the average temperature was 43.8 degrees. This record was broken in 2014 when the average temperature was 43.7 degrees. (2)

The ten coldest days in Dubuque history were: (3)

January 7, 1887-----------32 below

February 9, 1875----------31 below

January 16, 2009----------30 below

January 16, 1888----------30 below

January 21, 1970----------28 below

February 2, 1996----------27 below

February 3, 1996----------27 below

January 19, 1985----------27 below

January 20, 1985----------27 below

February 5, 1979----------27 below

On high temperature in Dubuque on January 31 was 16 degrees below zero. This set a record for the lowest high temperature for a single day since weather records were first kept. (4)

The longest cold spell came in early 1963 when the temperature stayed below zero for twenty consecutive days. Second place in this category came in 1888 when Dubuque suffered eighteen days of sub-zero temperatures.

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Source:

1. "2019: By the Numbers," Telegraph Herald, December 29, 2019, p. 1A

2. Barton, Thomas J. "2014 Coldest Year in City History," Telegraph Herald, January 2, 2015, p. 1A

3. "Low Temperature on Monday Probably Won't Break Records," Telegraph Herald, January 5, 2014, p. 9A

4. "2019: By the Numbers....."