The Most Extreme Weather in the US? It's Here in MN... Almost

If there's an award for the most extreme weather mood swings, the Land of 10,000 Lakes is definitely making the podium, at least according to this survey.

One of the cool things about living here in Minnesota is that we get to experience all four seasons-- sometimes all in the same day, or week, right? Our constantly changing seasons-- as the winter cold and snow eventually melt and turn to spring, which then gives way to the heat and humidity of summer only to have the crispness of fall invade our state before Old Man Winter heads back again-- is certainly unique to our neck of the woods.

Why, how boring it must be to have weather that's the same all year long-- like they do in parts of southern California (like San Diego) where it's sunny with high temperatures in the 60s or low 70s every day! Who wants that?!?

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Besides, being able to make it through a winter where our temperatures routinely dip below zero, as well as sweating our way through a hot, humid stretch of July weather is kind of a feather in our cap in the North Star State, right?

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It's also why Minnesota has been ranked #2 on this list of the US States With The Most Extreme Weather. It was compiled by the air filter company Filterbuy, using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Here's the criteria they used:

"Researchers created an extreme weather score based on each state’s all-time maximum and minimum temperatures, maximum 24-hour precipitation, maximum 24-hour snowfall, and number of annual tornadoes per 10,000 square miles," the survey said.

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Minnesota's second-place finish was driven by our all-time highest temperature (115 degrees!), and our all-time lowest temperature (60 degrees below zero!), which, when combined with the other factors (including the likelihood of severe summer weather, including tornadoes) gave us an extreme weather score of 68.6.

Only California scored higher than the Bold North, with an extreme weather score of 73.1. (Hawaii was the state with the least extreme weather, coming in at #50 on the list. Wisconsin was 31st, while Iowa was ranked 14th.)

So, be proud of our ability to thrive in ALL four seasons, Minnesota! Only Californians have to put up with more extreme weather than we do. Another category in which we're better than California is our cost of living-- which is way cheaper here in Minnesota. In fact, keep scrolling to check out six different homes you can buy... all for under $50,000!