If you’ve been jarred by winter weather lately, you’re not alone. The winter of 2023-2024 was the warmest recorded in the continental U.S. (records span the past 130 years), with average temperatures 5.4 degrees higher than normal.
At the same time, severe cold snaps are also getting more intense. In January 2025, freezing temperatures stretched down the usually balmy Gulf Coast and brought unprecedented snowfall to Southern states like Louisiana and Florida.
While record-high temperatures and heavy snow might seem contradictory, they’re actually symptoms of the same climate phenomenon. In the Arctic, the polar jet stream—which usually creates a boundary between the frigid northern air and the more temperate remainder of the globe—has weakened as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. This has allowed the jet stream to dip further than ever before, leading to cold snaps across the Southern U.S. Those same greenhouse gas emissions are also partly responsible for the warmer winters we’ve been seeing. So, as counterintuitive as it may seem, warmer winters and extreme cold events go hand-in-hand.
Though typically areas in the Northern U.S. tend to be much colder than their Southern counterparts, even within the same state, temperatures can vary greatly. To determine where temperatures drop the lowest in the winter, Stacker compiled a list of the counties with the coldest winters in Oregon using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Data represents the average temperatures from December 2023 to February 2024; the historic average is the average for these months from 1901 to 2000. All temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
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#24. Josephine County (tie)
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 41.7 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 38.1 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.6 degrees
#24. Lane County (tie)
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 41.7 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 38.2 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.5 degrees
#24. Washington County (tie)
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 41.7 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 38.5 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.2 degrees
#23. Multnomah County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 41.4 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 38.3 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.1 degrees
#22. Marion County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 40.7 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 37.6 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.1 degrees
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#21. Linn County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 40.6 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 37.1 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.6 degrees
#20. Jackson County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 40.4 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 36.2 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4.2 degrees
#19. Clackamas County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 38.9 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 35.9 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.1 degrees
#18. Morrow County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 36.3 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 32.5 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.8 degrees
#17. Gilliam County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 36.0 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 32.7 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.2 degrees
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#16. Umatilla County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 35.4 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 31.4 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4 degrees
#15. Sherman County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 35.3 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 32.5 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +2.8 degrees
#14. Wheeler County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 35.1 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 31.5 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.6 degrees
#13. Jefferson County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 34.9 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 31.9 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3 degrees
#12. Wasco County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 34.7 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 32.0 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +2.7 degrees
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#11. Lake County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.8 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 29.0 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4.7 degrees
#10. Crook County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.7 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 29.8 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4 degrees
#9. Klamath County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.6 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 29.0 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4.6 degrees
#8. Hood River County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.5 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 31.1 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +2.4 degrees
#6. Deschutes County (tie)
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.2 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 29.4 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.8 degrees
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#6. Harney County (tie)
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.2 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 28.0 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +5.3 degrees
#5. Malheur County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 33.0 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 28.8 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4.2 degrees
#4. Grant County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 32.0 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 27.8 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4.2 degrees
#3. Union County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 31.6 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 27.7 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.9 degrees
#2. Baker County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 30.8 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 26.6 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +4.2 degrees
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#1. Wallowa County
– Winter 2024 average temperature: 30.5 degrees Fahrenheit
– Historic average summer temperature: 26.6 degrees
— 2024 difference from historic average: +3.9 degrees
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Andrea Vale, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.
Stacker
Stacker is a news organization that produces and distributes data journalism to the world’s news organizations. Founded in 2017, Stacker combines data analysis with rich editorial context, drawing on authoritative sources and subject matter experts to drive storytelling. This article has been republished pursuant to a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.