Stanley: chilling facts of a warm-hearted town
Central Idaho posts 34 national lows so far in 2004
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
For the hearty, year-round residents of Stanley, it comes as no surprise that the scenic little Central Idaho town nestled between the Sawtooth, White Cloud and Salmon River mountains is consistently one of the coldest spots in the lower 48 United States.
?I think everybody who comes here knows. I think everybody knows that it?s pretty cold here, even in the summer,? said 14-year Stanley resident Lois Downing. ?But that?s just typical of this area, and it might be one of the reasons why people come.?
So far this year, Stanley has posted the coldest temperature in the contiguous U.S. 34 times, but the lion?s share of those lows have been recorded since June. Only six were posted between January and May.
What that means in Stanley is that temperatures are rather pleasant during the summer months. Days are usually mild, but not hot. Sleep comes easily during crisp summer nights, when temperatures often hover in the mid-30s. The lowest low posted in Stanley this summer was 25 F, on June 7, 12, 14, 15 and 17.
But don?t misread. Stanley can get downright cold in the winter.
?In the late-fall and winter, you?ll notice that we?re probably as cold or colder than anyplace in the West,? said Ron Gillette, a 34-year resident.
The lowest he?s seen the mercury is a bone creaking minus 58 or minus 59 F.
?And that was not a wind chill. It was just a bare bottom cold,? he said. ?Once it gets below 30 below, it?s hard to tell. Anything below minus 30 is just numbing. You push the clutch in your vehicle, and it just breaks.
?What really hurts is when it stays that cold for two, three, four or five days.?
The reason Stanley is consistently cold is because of the bowl-shaped basin it sits in. Cold air is heavier than warm air, and at night, it sinks to valley floors.
?The cold air at night just drains down into that valley,? said Greg Kaiser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pocatello. ?Typically high mountains are the coldest places in the country, and they sit in the perfect location for that.?
If you imagine cold air as water that drains from the flanks of the mountains, it pools in the Stanley Basin, with only the narrow Salmon River canyon to drain it.
Regardless of the reasons, one fact remains. Year in and year out, Stanley ranks among the coldest locations in the country. In 1999, Stanley ranked fifth in the lower 48, with 19 lows. In 1998, Stanley gained the dubious distinction of being the coldest town in the country outside Alaska, with 49 lows. And with 34 frigid-day badges on its lapel so far this year, Stanley is sure to be in the running for a top-five finish yet again.
Other frequent Lower 48 cold spots include West Yellowstone, Mont., Jackson, Wyo., Gunnison, Colo., International Falls, Minn., and Truckee, Calif. So far this year, West Yellowstone has logged 10 national lows, and Gunnison has logged six.
In Stanley, the residents seem to take it all in stride.
?No. It doesn?t get unbearable,? Downing said. ?When it gets cold out, you just sit closer to the fire.?
She said schools don?t close until temperatures reach minus 30 F. A mother of six, she said her kids were always allowed to play outside until temperatures dropped to zero.
In the summer, Downing routinely covers her plants to protect them from July or August frosts. In the winter, plugging vehicles into electrical outlets to keep engine blocks heated is a matter of course.
?Obviously the higher elevation has to do with the cold,? Gillette said. ?We?ve had snow in the last few days in the peaks.?
Rather than bemoan their chilly little town, Gillette and Downing expressed an intense appreciation for their home.
?I think that the Sawtooth Mountains, the Salmon River, the White Clouds?it?s a crown jewel of the American West,? Gillette said. ?I?m a cowboy trader. I travel all over the American West, and the prettiest place I see is when I come home.?
Listed below are the days in 2004 that Stanley posted the lowest temperature in the lower 48 states
March 1: 2 F
April 18: 20 F
April 30: 19 F
May 9: 24 F
May 18: 26 F
May 29: 26 F
June 7: 25 F
June 11: 29 F
June 12: 25 F
June 14: 30 F
June 15: 25 F
June 17: 25 F
June 20: 31 F
July 5: 33 F
July 7: 36 F
July 8: 27 F
July 9: 27 F
July 12: 29 F
July 14: 37 F
July 21: 38 F
July 29: 35 F
July 30: 35 F
July 31: 35 F
Aug. 4: 32 F
Aug. 6: 32 F
Aug. 10: 33 F
Aug. 24: 28 F
Aug. 26: 36 F
Aug. 29: 33 F
Sept. 3: 24 F
Sept. 6: 23 F
Sept. 7: 26 F
Sept. 8: 30 F
Sept. 9: 29 F
Source: USA Today
