What is the coldest city in the USA?

International Falls, MN

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/extremes.shtml

Fraser, CO is actually colder than International Falls, MN. True, International Falls has the "title," but Enchanted Learning did not do enough research, because there are several cities in Colorado that are colder. International Falls' average annual temperature is 36.4 degrees Farenheit, whereas Fraser's average annual temperature is 34.84 degrees Farenheit.

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMONtavt.pl?cofra2

This is merely a struggle for a title. Despite supposedly settling the matter in 1986, with the "winner" buying the trademark "Ice Box of the Nation" for $2000, the two cities are currently suing each other. The title refers to the 48, not the 50 states, since the tops of Alaska's mountains would have a much colder mean annual temperature than either Fraser or International Falls. Barrow, AK, has a mean annual temperature of 10.4 degrees F.
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/coldest.php
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22649329/

International Falls, Minnesota has an average annual temperature of 36.4. Also, the 10 all-time coldest temperatures (Obtained from state temperature records, NCDC) denotes Prospect Creek, Alaska at -80 F.

Q: What are the coldest cities in the USA?
A: The coldest major city in the USA is Minneapolis, which has an annual average temperature of 45.2 F. However, several other smaller cities are much colder, including Fairbanks, Alaska (26.7 F), Anchorage (36.2 F), International Falls, Minn. (37.4 F), Duluth, Minn., (39.1 F), and Caribou, Maine (39.2 F). In Fairbanks, for example, the average daily high temperature in January is -0.3ºF.

This data was taken from Extreme Weather, a weather guide and record book by Christopher C. Burt.
https://notes.kateva.org/2009/12/coldest-major-cities.html

I'm just curious here: How is it possible that Minnesota has a lower average annual temperature than Alaska?

Continental climate. Alaska is more coastal, even though more northerly. Minnesota has a very extreme climate, with a range of 96.6 °C between highest and lowest. There's a growing season of 90 days up in the hills. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota#Climate
The Alaskan cities are in the coastal regions, and will have a comparatively moderate climate compared with Minnesota. (The extreme Alaskan temperatures are in the interior and far north, where people tend to visit rather than live...)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska#Climate

Don't ask me whether the questioner meant coldest coldest or average coldest. I don't know....

Barrow, AK, has the coldest average temperature of any "settlement" in North America. It doesn't fit everyone's definition of "city."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrow,_Alaska#Climate

Fairbanks, in Alaska's interior, qualifies as a city, and its average yearly temperature is 26.9 F.
http://www.cityrating.com/citytemperature.asp?City=Fairbanks

There are probably no records of the actual coldest "spot," likely being uninhabited and unmonitored.

Maybe I am just in a challenging mood (beware), but what about Barrow, Alaska?

Quote:
The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in Alaska are both in the Interior. The highest is 100 °F (38 °C) in Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915, tied with Pahala, Hawaii as the lowest high temperature in the United States. The lowest Alaska temperature is −80 °F (-64 °C) in Prospect Creek on January 23, 1971, one degree above the lowest temperature recorded in North America (in Snag, Yukon, Canada).

The climate in the extreme north of Alaska is as expected for an area north of the Arctic Circle. It is an Arctic climate (Köppen ET) with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature is barely above freezing in Barrow, at 34 °F (2 °C).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska#Climate

I might as well give up Barrow, Alaska: It is obviously a "town" or "settlement". What is the definition of a city in the US anyway? In Norway we have smaller towns/settlements which have a city status.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrow,_Alaska

My main source in Geography - the Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary calls Barrow, Alaska a "city", so I go for it anyway.

The winter can bring extreme cold to the United States, with cold arctic air and winter storms. When asked to name the coldest state in the U.S., Alaska comes to mind of course. Here are the 10 coldest cities in the United States, based on annual average temperatures, measured in degree Fahrenheit.

10 Coldest Cities in U.S.--

1. Fairbanks, AK, averages 26.7 F (-2.9 C)
2. Anchorage, AK, averages 36.2 F (2.3 C)
3. Gunnison, CO, averages 37.3 F (2.9 C)
4. International Falls, MN, averages 37.4 F (3 C)
5. Duluth, MN, averages 39.1 F (3.9 C)
6. Caribou, ME, averages 39.2 F (4 C)
7. Butte, MT, averages 39.5 F (4.2 C)
8. Sault. Ste. Marie, MI, averages 40.1 F (4.5 C)
9. Grand Forks, ND, averages 40.3 F (4.6 C)
10. Alamosa, CO, averages 40.8 F (4.9 C)

The coldest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. did, however, occur in Alaska. In January of 1971, Prospect Creek, Alaska recorded a minimum temperature of -80 F (-62.2 C). The coldest temperature recorded in the continental states, happened in Embarrass, Minnesota at -64 degrees F (-53.3 C). This temperature was recorded in February 1996, verified for accuracy by Taylor Environmental Instruments.



[ article at meteorologyclimatology.suite101.com is no longer online ]

Here is another quote from my reference, the Wiki page on Barrow, Alaska:

Quote -- However, Barrow experiences the lowest average temperatures in Alaska. While actual temperature extremes are rare, extremely low wind chill and "white out" conditions from blowing snow are very common.

I don't necessarily trust my references, but this one also points out Barrow, Alaska.

Quote -- In Barrow, Alaska on the Arctic Ocean, the annual average temperature is 10.4 degrees. Juneau, Alaska, at the southern end of the state, has an annual average temperature of 41.5 degrees. A couple of places that are just as cold or colder than Juneau on an annual basis in other states include Alamosa, Colo. 40.8 degrees, and Grand Forks, N.D., 40.3 degrees. In other words, parts of Colorado and North Dakota, and also some other states, are as cold as part of Alaska.

usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2003-07-31-answers-coldest-states_x.htm no longer exists

This appears to offer the most reliable data on this topic:

Barrow, AK likely doesn't count in this survey due to town size.

Feb 28, 2015:

"To determine the 50 coldest cities, 24/7 Wall St. used data on the minimum monthly temperature between 1981 and 2010 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 2012 "Comparative Climatic Data" report. The cities listed have medium to large populations and are near weather stations classified as Local Climatological Data stations."

1. Fairbanks, Alaska
2. Grand Forks, North Dakota
3. Fargo, North Dakota
4. Williston, North Dakota
5. Duluth, Minnesota
6. Aberdeen, South Dakota
7. St. Cloud, Minnesota
8. Bismarck, North Dakota
9. Marquette, Michigan
10. Huron, South Dakota

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/02/28/247-wall-st-coldest-cities/24107481/