Cold waves in United States
80 cold waves have been recorded in United States by Global Incident Tracker, 80 of them in 2026. The most recent was on 11 October 2026. These are incidents our sources reported, not an official national total.
4
Today (UTC)
61
Last 7 days
80
In 2026
80
Total recorded
Continuous monitoring began 9 August 2026. These counters show what we have recorded since then, not everything that happened.
Most recent cold waves in United States
Winter Storm Warning — South Slopes Of The Central Brooks Range
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Judith Gap
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Absaroka/Beartooth Mountains; Crazy Mountains
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Melville Foothills
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — East Glacier Park Region; Northern High Plains; Southern Rocky Mountain Front; Southern High Plains; Upper Blackfoot and
Severe
Freeze Warning — Southern Trinity
Severe
Freeze Watch — Kittitas Valley
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Judith Gap
Severe
Freeze Warning — Eastern Curry County and Josephine County; Jackson County
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Butte/Blackfoot Region
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — East Glacier Park Region; Northern High Plains
Severe
Freeze Watch — Eastern Curry County and Josephine County; Jackson County
Severe
Freeze Warning — Western Siskiyou County; Central Siskiyou County; South Central Siskiyou County
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Little Belt and Highwood Mountains; Snowy and Judith Mountains; Elkhorn and Boulder Mountains
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Eastern Pondera and Eastern Teton; Cascade County below 5000ft; Judith Basin County and Judith Gap; Meagher County Valle
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Southern Rocky Mountain Front; Southern High Plains; Upper Blackfoot and MacDonald Pass; Gates of the Mountains
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains
Severe
Freeze Warning — Central Interior Cumberland; Androscoggin
Severe
Freeze Warning — Wallowa County
Severe
Freeze Warning — Central Oregon
Severe
Freeze Watch — Western Siskiyou County; Central Siskiyou County; South Central Siskiyou County
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Melville Foothills
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Absaroka/Beartooth Mountains; Crazy Mountains
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — South Slopes of the Western Brooks Range; Noatak Valley
Severe
Freeze Warning — Central Oregon
Severe
Freeze Warning — Wallowa County
Severe
Winter Storm Watch — Butte/Blackfoot Region
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Butte/Blackfoot Region
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Big Belt, Bridger and Castle Mountains
Severe
Winter Storm Warning — Eastern Pondera and Eastern Teton
Severe
When they happen
October carries the most cold waves we hold for United States — 74 of 80. This is when incidents were reported, so read a quiet month as either a quiet month or thin reporting.
| Month | Recorded | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | |
| February | 0 | |
| March | 0 | |
| April | 0 | |
| May | 0 | |
| June | 0 | |
| July | 0 | |
| August | 0 | |
| September | 6 | |
| October | 74 | |
| November | 0 | |
| December | 0 |
Where this data comes from
Cold waves have official real-time feeds, and ours come from US NWS · Meteoalarm · national services (CAP) · news.