What exactly is the record cold temperature in Butte?

In case you missed the memo, we have a historic cold front barreling our way. Depending on what weather service you trust, or what meteorologist you have faith in, Butte is expected to drop to nearly 40 degrees below zero Wednesday night. Not only will the temperature plummet to that level, but most of the state will also be dealing with winds as well. The next few days are going to be awful cold, so please take care of you and yours.

As we have watched this storm come our way, I have heard quite a few people questioning if it would be record cold or not. The 40 degrees below zero is incredibly cold, but it is a long way removed from a record. December of 1983 set a lot of our current records. The 22nd, 23rd, and 24th all hit 40 degrees below zero, the 22nd -43, 24th -40, and our current Butte record the 23rd at 52 degrees below zero. The thermometer also stopped at -52 on February 9, 1933.

Here is a list of the coldest days on record in Butte Montana.
-52 December 23, 1983
-52 February 9, 1933
-51 February 8, 1936
-48 January 7, 1937
-47 January 21, 1937
-47 January 20, 1937
-46 January 29, 1951
-45 February 17, 1942
-45 January 8, 1937
-45 February 13, 1933

The lowest temperature reading in the state of Montana was recorded on January 20, 1954, at a weather station on Rogers Pass. The official reading was 70 degrees below zero.
There is one record that could possibly fall in the state of Montana during this cold weather. The coldest wind chill reading in Montana history is 69 degrees below zero, recorded in Havre on December 23, (you guessed it) 1983. The temperature reading without the wind stood at -48. Havre’s forecast is for -38 degrees on Wednesday night with the possibility of 23 mph winds. That could push that -70 temp with the wind chill.
So, prepare for the worst across the whole state of Montana. Break out the space heaters, change your furnace filter today, and get the pipe wrap in place, it’s going to be a level of cold that we can brag about to our out of state family…. Once we dethaw.