-31F at Nowata, OK - New State Record

[Andrew Ryan]

A couple of things to remember about this low temperature...

1. It is unofficial until certified by the state climatologist.

2. Because of the 1-2 feet of snow, the effective height of the temperature sensor was reduced from 4.5 feet to 2.5-3.5 feet. This may not seem like much, but under strong radiational cooling, the temperature decreases very rapidly the closer to the ground you get. I wonder how many degrees were shaved off the minimums because of this decrease of 1-2 feet in the effective height of the temperature sensor.

Add on to that the fact that these temperatures are outside the range of the thermistors.