Largest One Week Temperature Variations You’ve Experienced

[JayhawkCO]

"You know what they say about weather in __________: 'If you don't like it, just wait 5 minutes and it will change.'"

That's a common one here in Michigan.

You missed the point.  It's a common one everywhere.  Everyone thinks their state's weather is more variable than everyone else's.  Michigan isn't unique in that regard.

And I would argue that this thread is a way to resolve which state you can actually apply that sentiment to. I don't believe I've seen anyone beat my 85° swing in a week for Colorado.

So na-nah-na-nah-boo-boo. I win.

[kphoger]

And I would argue that this thread is a way to resolve which state you can actually apply that sentiment to. I don't believe I've seen anyone beat my 85° swing in a week for Colorado.

So na-nah-na-nah-boo-boo. I win.

I don't recall anyone beating it either.  But, if someone were to beat it, it would probably be someone from Montana or the Dakotas.

[JayhawkCO]

And I would argue that this thread is a way to resolve which state you can actually apply that sentiment to. I don't believe I've seen anyone beat my 85° swing in a week for Colorado.

So na-nah-na-nah-boo-boo. I win.

I don't recall anyone beating it either.  But, if someone were to beat it, it would probably be someone from Montana or the Dakotas.

I feel like they're quick to drop, but less quick to warm up, anecdotally of course.

[paulthemapguy]

The swings are getting worse.

Agreed.

(click for full size)

That is amazing. There ought to be another one of these for "my state is the only one to get potholes!11!1!!1"

[Scott5114]

"You know what they say about weather in __________: 'If you don't like it, just wait 5 minutes and it will change.'"

That's a common one here in Michigan.

You missed the point.  It's a common one everywhere.  Everyone thinks their state's weather is more variable than everyone else's.  Michigan isn't unique in that regard.

And I would argue that this thread is a way to resolve which state you can actually apply that sentiment to. I don't believe I've seen anyone beat my 85° swing in a week for Colorado.

So na-nah-na-nah-boo-boo. I win.

It was originally said by Mark Twain about New England.

[thspfc]

(click for full size)

How did a human being consciously decide to write the Washington one? Is he being serious? Can he comprehend the words on the screen?

[epzik8]

(click for full size)

I'm so guilty of parroting and encouraging this statement for Maryland, but we're at one of the central latitudes of the U.S. so we have an element of validity in ours.

[Rothman]

(click for full size)

I'm so guilty of parroting and encouraging this statement for Maryland, but we're at one of the central latitudes of the U.S. so we have an element of validity in ours.

No.

[andrepoiy]

A few days ago parts of Southern Ontario went from +10 degrees Celsius to -10 degrees Celsius within 24 hours.

[jeffandnicole]

(click for full size)

I'm so guilty of parroting and encouraging this statement for Maryland, but we're at one of the central latitudes of the U.S. so we have an element of validity in ours.

Has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[thspfc]

(click for full size)

I'm so guilty of parroting and encouraging this statement for Maryland, but we're at one of the central latitudes of the U.S. so we have an element of validity in ours.

[Insert collage of someone from every state saying "haha yeah but my state is different"]

[JayhawkCO]

How did a human being consciously decide to write the Washington one? Is he being serious? Can he comprehend the words on the screen?

East of the Cascades, it could definitely apply (just like anywhere else). West of the Cascades, less so for sure.

[kphoger]

"You know what they say about weather in __________: 'If you don't like it, just wait 5 minutes and it will change.'"

That's a common one here in Michigan.

You missed the point.  It's a common one everywhere.  Everyone thinks their state's weather is more variable than everyone else's.  Michigan isn't unique in that regard.

And I would argue that this thread is a way to resolve which state you can actually apply that sentiment to. I don't believe I've seen anyone beat my 85° swing in a week for Colorado.

So na-nah-na-nah-boo-boo. I win.

I don't recall anyone beating it either.  But, if someone were to beat it, it would probably be someone from Montana or the Dakotas.

As suspected.  The Dakotas.


https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which-city-has-the-most-unpredictable-weather/

[JayhawkCO]

I know this thread is for one week variations, but I don't think it's worth a new thread for variants. One of the biggest 12 hour variations for Denver overnight. 73° at 3:30 PM yesterday. 32° at 3:30 AM today. Drop of 41° in 12 hours.

[formulanone]

"You know what they say about weather in __________: 'If you don't like it, just wait 5 minutes and it will change.'"

That's a common one here in Michigan.

You missed the point.  It's a common one everywhere.  Everyone thinks their state's weather is more variable than everyone else's.  Michigan isn't unique in that regard.

And I would argue that this thread is a way to resolve which state you can actually apply that sentiment to. I don't believe I've seen anyone beat my 85° swing in a week for Colorado.

So na-nah-na-nah-boo-boo. I win.

I don't recall anyone beating it either.  But, if someone were to beat it, it would probably be someone from Montana or the Dakotas.

As suspected.  The Dakotas.


https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which-city-has-the-most-unpredictable-weather/

Not doubting it; spent one week in December 2022 in Rapid City and it was calm and 50-52F on Monday afternoon, with a low of -25F and windy just a few days later. It was December, so I was expecting the latter more than the former.

(But now I have a logical reason for my eyes to glaze over when people talk about changeable weather.)

I kind of expect a big temperature swing from the Denver area, it's in the "mystery belt"...

[Max Rockatansky]

Not a week, but it was 53F this morning when I got up in Monterey.  It was 103F by the time I got home in Fresno this afternoon. 

[thspfc]

At 5 PM on Monday it was 65. At 7 AM tomorrow it will be 5. So that's 60 degrees in 38 hours. Yesterday I biked 34 miles in shorts and was sweating, today I couldn't feel my face after walking outside for 5 minutes.

It wasn't a linear decline either - it bottomed at 32 last night, warmed up to 51 this morning, and has since been rapidly cooling. That's a total decrease of 79 degrees in 32 hours, factoring out the 6 hours in which it was warming up.

I have been interested in finding a satisfactory answer to the question of this thread (with differences resulting from travel excluded), and had too much time today so naturally I went through 7 years of data on Weather Underground. Anything before 2019 was too long ago for me to remember a temperature swing and therefore I don't care.

I set a cutoff of a 55-degree swing in 7 days, and quickly realized none of the warmer months were even coming close on a consistent basis. So that helpfully narrowed the search to December-April.

Here were the top 10. Spans that, at their largest difference, overlayed the entirety of and trended in the same direction with a span with a larger difference were removed (i.e. 2/17 to 2/23 of this year had a 60 degree difference, but if 2/18 was chosen as the "cold" date instead, the difference to 2/23 would be 61).

1. 2/28/2024 to 3/3/2024: 67 degree change (4 to 71), in 5 days
2. 12/23/2022 to 12/29/2022: 67 degree change (-12 to 55), in 7 days
3. 2/18/2025 to 2/24/2025: 66 degree change (-14 to 52), in 7 days
4. 3/12/2022 to 3/16/2022: 62 degree change (4 to 66), in 5 days
5. 2/26/2024 to 2/28/2024: 61 degree change (65 to 4), in 3 days
6. 12/7/2024 to 12/12/2024: 59 degree change (52 to -7), in 6 days
7. 4/1/2021 to 4/6/2021: 58 degree change (20 to 78), in 6 days
8. 2/17/2021 to 2/23/2021: 58 degree change (-13 to 45), in 7 days
9. 3/14/2025 to 3/16/2025: 57 degree change (75 to 18), in 3 days
10. 4/15/2019 to 4/21/2019: 57 degree change (23 to 80), in 7 days

The craziest of these has to be the one I mentioned above - a 61 degree cooling in 40 hours in late February, against the pattern of the seasons. Of the others, all but one took at least 5 days and all but two were with the pattern of the seasons.

Honorable mention to 1/21/2025 to 1/27/2025, which began with a whopping -19 low and ended at a balmy 37.
Another honorable mention to 1/30/2019 to 2/2/2019, which had a 70 degree swing (-26 to 44) that I was away from home during and therefore did not experience.

[Road Hog]

My 83-degree swing in February 2021 still stands up. The one thing about Texas weather is its predictability in being unpredictable. Meteorologists have been good at seeing that 6-inch snowstorm coming all the way a week out such as last January, for example. They'll also put the balloon up when it looks like severe weather is on the horizon.

[ModernDayWarrior]

We reached a high of 73 degrees today ahead of the Arctic cold front that's passing through right now. The forecast low overnight is 16, but my house is located in a valley, where it often gets colder than what the forecast indicates. So we're looking at a temperature variation of something like 60 degrees over the course of about twelve hours. Fun. 

[ZLoth]

Today's (December 28th) high in North Dallas: 81℉
Current Temperature: 39℉
Tomorrow's Forecast Low: 28℉

[bugo]

This was one day and not a week, but I left Tulsa for Minot one day in June and it was about 100° when I left. When I got to North Dakota, it got into the 40s that night. It was blissful. I also went to Minot on January, and the cold didn't bother me that much as long as I didn't have to be in it very long. Breathing 20 below air is exhilarating.

[Road Hog]

They're now saying it could get as cold as 12ºF where I live Monday morning after everything has cleared out. But after that it'll be full sunshine and that will be the best thing to clear the roads.

[thspfc]

1. 2/28/2024 to 3/3/2024: 67 degree change (4 to 71), in 5 days
2. 12/23/2022 to 12/29/2022: 67 degree change (-12 to 55), in 7 days
3. 2/18/2025 to 2/24/2025: 66 degree change (-14 to 52), in 7 days
4. 3/12/2022 to 3/16/2022: 62 degree change (4 to 66), in 5 days
5. 2/26/2024 to 2/28/2024: 61 degree change (65 to 4), in 3 days
6. 12/7/2024 to 12/12/2024: 59 degree change (52 to -7), in 6 days
7. 4/1/2021 to 4/6/2021: 58 degree change (20 to 78), in 6 days
8. 2/17/2021 to 2/23/2021: 58 degree change (-13 to 45), in 7 days
9. 3/14/2025 to 3/16/2025: 57 degree change (75 to 18), in 3 days
10. 4/15/2019 to 4/21/2019: 57 degree change (23 to 80), in 7 days

New record - by a lot.

1. 3/17/2026 to 3/21/2026: 76 degree change (2 to 78), in 5 days

[kphoger]

Last week, Wichita went from 15°F Monday morning to 93°F Saturday afternoon.