What are the coldest temps ever in Memphis? 14 of the city's coldest days | Know Your 901

John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Updated ·4 min read
1

What do you want to know about Memphis?

Know Your 901 is an initiative launched by the know-it-alls at The Commercial Appeal that will seek to answer your questions about the Bluff City and the Greater Memphis region.

Readers, we want your queries and your input! All subject matter is welcome: Culture, art, history, geography, celebrity, TV, music, food, and et cetera. Send questions to knowyour901@commercialappeal.com and we will try to give you an answer in a future column.

Today's column is in response to Mother Nature:

What are Memphis' record low temperatures?

People walk down Main Street through the snow in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
People walk down Main Street through the snow in Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

Your nose is red, your toes are chilly and your skin is chafed.

Now, would you like to further abuse yourself and have your mind blown?

Can you remember all the way back to Thursday, Jan. 11?

According to the National Weather Service, the high temperature in Memphis on that date was an astonishing — a mind-blowing, from today's perspective — 66 degrees.

Sixty-six. That's shorts and T-shirt weather, for some.

KNOW YOUR 901: What's the Memphis record for snowfall? Here are the top 10 snowfalls

But 66 sure feels like a long time ago.

Four days later, almost 5 inches of snow had settled on the city, and the high was 14 degrees.

Historically, January is the coldest month of the calendar year in Memphis. Even so, the average January temperature in Memphis is 42 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

So, highs of 66 and 14 degrees are not "normal." The normal high for early to mid-January is 50-51 degrees.

Lelon Armstrong Jr., who works in maintenance for Parkway, shovels snow off the sidewalk in front of a parking lot in Downtown Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
Lelon Armstrong Jr., who works in maintenance for Parkway, shovels snow off the sidewalk in front of a parking lot in Downtown Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

Also, a low of 5 degrees on Jan. 16 is not normal. The normal low is 33.

Also not normal: The Jan. 17 low of 2 degrees, as recorded at Memphis International Airport. (That's the official low for Memphis for the date, according to the National Weather Service, iPhone weather app reports of -1 and -2 notwithstanding.) Conditions were even harsher in the less urban environments of Covington (minus-8) and Jackson, Tennessee (minus-11).

Apparently, not normal is the new normal. Temperatures over the next few days will rollercoaster above and below freezing, but not until Monday is the mercury in the thermometer expected to remain above 32 degrees for a full 24 hours.

SNOW IN MEMPHIS: Memphis Peabody ducks still march in line — even when it snows

Still, it could be worse (couldn't it always?). In fact, it has been worse — much worse. How does 13 degrees below zero sound?

Such statistics from even harsher chilly seasons past may provide cold comfort for those suffering through the current deep freeze, they do put our current arctic conditions into context.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Memphis has experienced temperatures below zero on 14 dates since 1900 — all but five of which were in January.

  • The record low of 13 degrees below zero occurred on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1963; the third worst-ever temperature of -8 degrees was the day before. "City Begins To Thaw; High Of 40 Promised After Record of -13," applauded The Commercial Appeal's front page on Christmas Day, above a story that reported: "Throughout Memphis, chilling temperatures melted before the wealth of worship as thousands gathered last night in churches to celebrate the birth of Christ."

  • The second-worst temperature hit Memphis on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, 1951, when the low was -11. By the next day, a forecast of 5 degrees above zero was good news, according to the Memphis Press-Scimitar, which began its front-page weather story with this sentence: "A beaming sun poked its head over the horizon this morning and Old Man Winter 'took to the tall timber' in full flight."

  • Temperatures of -4 and -3 degrees chilled the 1989 Christmas season, on Dec. 22 and 23, respectively. Jan. 12, 1962, and Jan. 20, 1985, also experienced lows of -3.

  • January 1940 was a tough month. Jan. 25 and 26 had lows of -2, while the lows of Jan. 27 and 28 were only a degree warmer. Jan. 13, 1930, also shivered to a low of -2, while Jan. 10 and 11 were at -1.

Meanwhile, our ancestors in the late 1800s (when record-keeping began) also experienced some rough winters. According to the National Weather Service, a temperature of -9 was recorded on Dec. 12, 1899. The mercury dipped to -8 on Jan. 9, 1866, and to -6 on Feb. 13, 1899.

A cold snap doesn't have to contain record lows to be a record bummer, however. According to the weather service, Memphians in 1905 experienced 27 consecutive days (Jan. 24-Feb. 19) with low temperatures at or below 32 degrees, while the citizens of 1940 shivered through 10 days (Jan. 18-27) with high temperatures not rising above freezing.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Record low temperatures in Memphis, TN: A look at the 14 coldest days