FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-016

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (February 3, 2026) – This issue of Fun with Maps shares the chilly facts of the coldest day ever recorded this side of the equator.

COLDEST ON RECORD

The coldest temperature in North America was recorded on February 3, 1947.  It happened at the weather station at Snag Airport in Yukon, Canada.  The temperature was showing -81.4 F.

The location is in an elevated valley above the White River, about 15 miles from the Alaska-Canada border. 

Today Snag is a ghost town, the airstrip overgrown with trees. The original purpose of the airstrip, built in 1942, was to provide a safe landing spot between Edmonton, Canada and Fairbanks, Alaska as well as weather reports for the pilots.  A staff of four meteorologists and some airplane mechanics were temporary residents there.

Since the Snag airstrip is abandoned and temperatures there are now unknown, we just have to mention the runner up where the site currently is still being monitored – that would be Prospect Creek, Alaska with a temperature of chilly -80F on January 23, 1971 – as a potential future record holder.

This map of Alaska and much of the Yukon from 1898 shows the gold and coal deposits in the area.  It was issued by the US Geological survey.  

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.