PENNSYLVANIA — As winter once again tightens its grip on Pennsylvania, new data-driven rankings show that no modern cold snap comes close to the brutal deep freeze that locked the state in ice nearly half a century ago.
A Stacker analysis of records from the National Centers for Environmental Information has ranked the coldest Januarys in Pennsylvania since 1895, based on statewide average temperatures, and January 1977 stands alone at the top of the list — the coldest month ever recorded across the Commonwealth.
That month delivered an average statewide temperature of just 12.7 degrees Fahrenheit, with a monthly high of only 21.6 degrees and a bone-chilling low of 3.8 degrees. Even precipitation was modest, at 1.5 inches, meaning the cold came without the insulating relief of heavy snow.
The second-coldest January came in 1918, when the statewide average plunged to 13.4 degrees, with nighttime lows dipping to 4.9 degrees. That winter storm season brought 3.58 inches of precipitation, adding icy misery to already frigid conditions.
Two months tied for third place: January 1912 and January 1940. Both posted average temperatures of 16 degrees statewide, though 1912 recorded a lower minimum of 7.6 degrees, while 1940 bottomed out at 8.7 degrees.
Rounding out the top five was January 1904, when the statewide average slipped to 17.3 degrees and temperatures fell as low as 8.2 degrees.
More recent generations may remember January 1970 and January 1994, which ranked sixth and seventh coldest, with averages of 17.7 and 17.8 degrees, respectively. Those months still delivered punishing lows near 9 degrees and showed that even late 20th-century winters could rival the harshness of earlier eras.
Other notoriously cold months included January 1948, January 1920, and January 1982, all of which posted statewide average temperatures around 18 degrees, enough to freeze rivers, cripple transportation, and test the limits of heating systems across Pennsylvania.
Together, the rankings offer a stark reminder that while today’s winters can be bitter, the Commonwealth has endured far colder months in the past — when entire Januaries stayed locked in subfreezing temperatures and survival depended on coal stoves, wood fires, and resilience.
Nearly 50 years later, January 1977 still looms as Pennsylvania’s coldest benchmark — a frozen chapter in the state’s climate history that has yet to be matched.