What are the coldest and warmest temperatures ever recorded in California?
Like so many other categories, the weather extremes in California are quite diverse. The record high temperature is a sizzling 134°F, recorded on July 10, 1913, in Death Valley (elevation: 178 feet below sea level). This is the North American record and is just shy of the world record of 136°F in Libya. On the cool side, the mercury plunged to -45°F in Boca on January 20, 1937. Boca is located at an elevation of 5,532 feet, a few miles north of I-80 on the east slopes of the Sierra Nevada. The difference between these extremes is a noteworthy 179°F and is mostly a function of both locations being distant from the moderating influences of the Pacific Ocean. However, this is not the biggest difference between a state s extreme high and low temperature readings. That honor goes to Montana, with a range of 187°F. The state’s record minimum of -70°F is the lowest in the continental 48 states and its record high is 117°F. The narrowest extreme temperature range in the continental 48 is 111°F
