PETER SINKS, Utah — One of the coldest locations in the United States is located in Utah.
Earlier this week, Peter Sinks, Utah recorded the day's lowest temperature in the continental United States at -63.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Where is Peter Sinks, Utah, site of the coldest temperature in the US?
The bone chilling temperature wasn’t quite as cold as the -69.3 degrees Fahrenheit recorded at Peter Sinks on February 1, 1985.
Two college students helped make that reading possible 38 years ago.
“We thought there has got to be a place up in the mountains that is very cold,” said Zane Stephens, a meteorologist who attended Utah State University. “When I saw it [Peter Sinks] on a U.S.G.S. map, I thought, ‘wow this is going to be a cold location.’”
That curiosity led Stephens and a friend to investigate further. While official temperatures weren’t recorded there at the time, they had a feeling this area could produce some of the coldest winter temperatures in the country.
Stephens said they lobbied officials to install equipment to gather temperature readings and eventually were supplied instruments by Logan, Utah based company Campbell Scientific.
In the early hours of February 1, 1985, things got very cold.
Stephens and a team of weather enthusiasts headed up to Peter Sinks to gather their equipment.
“Sent the thermometer to the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C.,” he recalled. “Two weeks later we got the thermometer back with an official notification that it was -69.3.”
While extremely cold, that reading was too warm to break the all-time record low of -69.7 set in Rogers Pass, Mont. in 1954.
Stephens believes that record will eventually be broken at Peter Sinks.
“I think 75 below is doable maybe in the next 20 years,” he said.
Only time will tell if a blast of arctic air with the perfect conditions will create that record cold.
Stephens believes the phenomenon and buzz surrounding Peter Sinks is a reminder that anything is possible when you explore your scientific theories and persevere.
“Don’t ever let people tell you that you can't do something,” he said. “If you have an idea, go for it.”
