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The warmest counties in the 10 coldest states

Climate change has meant more extreme heat days, a rising frequency of major weather events, and extended growing seasons in traditionally cool-weather states.

In colder parts of the country, warmer weather also means expanded territory and population booms for pests such as mosquitoes. Ticks, whose numbers are kept in check in part by deep freezes (10 degrees Fahrenheit or colder), will survive more easily in warmer winters, potentially increasing the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens such as Lyme disease, according to a July 2021 article in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

The seasonal temperature outlook through September 2023 across the vast majority of the U.S. is predicted to be above normal, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Stacker ranked nearly 500 counties in the 10 coldest states in the continental U.S. to find the warmest based on average temperature between May 2022 and April 2023, citing National Centers for Environmental Information data. The coldest states included in the analysis are North Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Maine, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Vermont. Ties are broken based on the average high temperature.

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#50. Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota

– Average temperature: 47.9 F (3.2 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 61.3 F
– Average low: 34.4 F
– #2489 warmest county nationally

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#49. Androscoggin County, Maine

– Average temperature: 47.9 F (3.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.9 F
– Average low: 37.8 F
– #2487 warmest county nationally

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#48. Grant County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 47.9 F (3.0 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.8 F
– Average low: 38.1 F
– #2485 warmest county nationally

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#47. Columbia County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 47.9 F (3.1 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.4 F
– Average low: 38.5 F
– #2484 warmest county nationally

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#46. Lafayette County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.0 F (3.1 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.5 F
– Average low: 37.6 F
– #2478 warmest county nationally

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#45. Lincoln County, Maine

– Average temperature: 48.2 F (3.6 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.0 F
– Average low: 39.3 F
– #2471 warmest county nationally

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#44. Ozaukee County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.2 F (3.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.0 F
– Average low: 39.4 F
– #2470 warmest county nationally

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#43. Cumberland County, Maine

– Average temperature: 48.2 F (3.6 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.2 F
– Average low: 38.2 F
– #2468 warmest county nationally

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#42. Grand Isle County, Vermont

– Average temperature: 48.2 F (2.4 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.3 F
– Average low: 39.2 F
– #2467 warmest county nationally

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#41. Jerome County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 48.2 F (5.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 60.6 F
– Average low: 35.8 F
– #2464 warmest county nationally

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#40. Weld County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 48.4 F (3.0 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.1 F
– Average low: 33.6 F
– #2453 warmest county nationally

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#39. Gem County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 48.4 F (5.5 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 60.5 F
– Average low: 36.3 F
– #2452 warmest county nationally

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#38. York County, Maine

– Average temperature: 48.5 F (3.9 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.7 F
– Average low: 38.2 F
– #2445 warmest county nationally

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#37. Dane County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.5 F (3.6 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.1 F
– Average low: 38.9 F
– #2439 warmest county nationally

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#36. Jefferson County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.5 F (3.7 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.2 F
– Average low: 38.9 F
– #2434 warmest county nationally

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#35. Montezuma County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 48.5 F (3.2 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 61.8 F
– Average low: 35.3 F
– #2432 warmest county nationally

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#34. Sagadahoc County, Maine

– Average temperature: 48.5 F (4.0 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 57.8 F
– Average low: 39.2 F
– #2431 warmest county nationally

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#33. Waukesha County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.6 F (3.7 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.1 F
– Average low: 39.1 F
– #2427 warmest county nationally

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#32. Gooding County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 48.6 F (5.7 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 61.2 F
– Average low: 36.0 F
– #2424 warmest county nationally

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#31. Green County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.6 F (3.8 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.7 F
– Average low: 38.6 F
– #2420 warmest county nationally

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#30. Washington County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 48.8 F (3.4 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.6 F
– Average low: 33.9 F
– #2412 warmest county nationally

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#29. Walworth County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 48.8 F (3.9 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.4 F
– Average low: 39.2 F
– #2404 warmest county nationally

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#28. Arapahoe County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 48.9 F (3.5 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.8 F
– Average low: 33.9 F
– #2398 warmest county nationally

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#27. Morgan County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 48.9 F (3.5 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.9 F
– Average low: 33.8 F
– #2399 warmest county nationally

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#26. Nez Perce County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 48.9 F (6.0 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 60.2 F
– Average low: 37.6 F
– #2397 warmest county nationally

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#25. Logan County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 49.0 F (3.6 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.3 F
– Average low: 34.6 F
– #2390 warmest county nationally

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#24. Rock County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 49.1 F (4.2 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.8 F
– Average low: 39.4 F
– #2379 warmest county nationally

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#23. Adams County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 49.2 F (3.9 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 64.3 F
– Average low: 34.1 F
– #2370 warmest county nationally

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#22. Sedgwick County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 49.3 F (3.9 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.0 F
– Average low: 35.7 F
– #2358 warmest county nationally

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#21. Phillips County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 49.7 F (4.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 64.0 F
– Average low: 35.3 F
– #2336 warmest county nationally

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#20. Racine County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 49.7 F (4.8 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 59.0 F
– Average low: 40.3 F
– #2335 warmest county nationally

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#19. Lincoln County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 49.7 F (4.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 65.5 F
– Average low: 33.9 F
– #2329 warmest county nationally

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#18. Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 49.8 F (4.9 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 58.8 F
– Average low: 40.9 F
– #2319 warmest county nationally

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#17. Kenosha County, Wisconsin

– Average temperature: 50.1 F (5.2 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 59.4 F
– Average low: 40.8 F
– #2285 warmest county nationally

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#16. Broomfield County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 50.4 F (5.0 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 64.9 F
– Average low: 35.9 F
– #2250 warmest county nationally

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#15. Denver County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 50.5 F (5.2 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 64.9 F
– Average low: 36.2 F
– #2232 warmest county nationally

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#14. Yuma County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 50.6 F (5.2 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 65.0 F
– Average low: 36.3 F
– #2222 warmest county nationally

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#13. Payette County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 51.0 F (8.1 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.5 F
– Average low: 38.5 F
– #2186 warmest county nationally

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#12. Kit Carson County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 51.1 F (5.7 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 66.2 F
– Average low: 36.1 F
– #2176 warmest county nationally

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#11. Ada County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 51.2 F (8.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 63.6 F
– Average low: 38.9 F
– #2171 warmest county nationally

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#10. Las Animas County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 51.2 F (5.9 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 66.2 F
– Average low: 36.3 F
– #2168 warmest county nationally

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#9. Canyon County, Idaho

– Average temperature: 51.4 F (8.5 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 64.6 F
– Average low: 38.3 F
– #2144 warmest county nationally

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#8. Cheyenne County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 51.5 F (6.1 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 66.7 F
– Average low: 36.3 F
– #2135 warmest county nationally

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#7. Crowley County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 51.7 F (6.4 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 68.3 F
– Average low: 35.2 F
– #2098 warmest county nationally

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#6. Kiowa County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 52.2 F (6.8 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 67.8 F
– Average low: 36.6 F
– #2034 warmest county nationally

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#5. Pueblo County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 52.2 F (6.8 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 67.5 F
– Average low: 36.9 F
– #2032 warmest county nationally

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#4. Otero County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 52.8 F (7.5 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 69.0 F
– Average low: 36.7 F
– #1953 warmest county nationally

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#3. Bent County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 53.2 F (7.8 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 69.2 F
– Average low: 37.1 F
– #1912 warmest county nationally

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#2. Prowers County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 53.7 F (8.3 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 69.4 F
– Average low: 37.9 F
– #1837 warmest county nationally

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#1. Baca County, Colorado

– Average temperature: 54.1 F (8.7 F higher than state average)
– Average high: 70.1 F
– Average low: 38.1 F
– #1787 warmest county nationally