← 1977All Years1979 →
1978 on the other records:ColdestSinceWettestSinceDriestSince
The Year in Heat & Cold

1978

-2.23°F
ran -2.23°F cooler than the 1996–2025 average across 370 cities — the 136th warmest of 157 years on record.

Extremes

Hottest Day of 1978

119.0°F
Lake Havasu City, AZ · Jul 20

Coldest Day of 1978

-52.0°F
Bettles, AK · Dec 16

Records Set in 1978

Daily Heat Records Set

639
calendar-day record highs set in 1978 that still stand today

Daily Cold Records Set

1,054
calendar-day record lows set in 1978 that still stand today

Where the Year Ran Warm & Cold

Each city's 1978 average temperature versus its 1996–2025 normal — blue where the year ran cool, red where it ran hot.
1978 U.S. temperature anomaly map

Hottest & Coldest at Every City

Each city's single hottest and coldest reading of 1978 — the number is the temperature, coloured hot-to-cold. Toggle between the two.
1978 — hottest and coldest temperature at each U.S. city

Month by Month

National temperature anomaly by month — red above the line is a warm month, blue below is cool.
-5.70J
-7.77F
-2.83M
-0.83A
-1.24M
-1.08J
-1.28J
-0.86A
-0.37S
-1.23O
-0.72N
-3.07D

Warmest Stations & States

Warmest Stations of 1978

1Nome AK+3.27°F
2Delta Junction AK+2.86°F
3King Salmon AK+2.68°F
4Kotzebue AK+2.38°F
5Bettles AK+2.30°F
6Mcgrath AK+2.21°F
7San Diego CA+1.88°F
8Anchorage AK+1.86°F
9Fairbanks AK+1.84°F
10St Paul Island AK+1.77°F

Coolest Stations of 1978

1Mobridge SD-7.01°F
2Billings MT-5.73°F
3Glasgow MT-5.41°F
4Reno NV-5.41°F
5Valentine NE-5.40°F
6Erie PA-4.97°F
7Wilmington OH-4.79°F
8Tyler TX-4.70°F
9St Louis MO-4.66°F
10Omaha NE-4.64°F

By State

Warmest states of 1978
Alaska+0.98°Puerto Rico+0.13°Hawaii-0.24°California-0.97°Guam-1.09°Utah-1.13°
Coolest states of 1978
Vermont-4.58°South Dakota-4.04°Nebraska-3.99°Montana-3.73°New Hampshire-3.73°Delaware-3.71°
← 1977All Years1979 →
Hottest Since · Browse all states · See where it's coldest → coldestsince.com
part of Weather Trader · supported by Substack Subscribers · data: NWS NDFD forecast + NOAA/ACIS ThreadEx records · updated 2026-07-12 22:52Z
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