Wide temperature swings are common in the Great Plains. Just last week, the temperature in Fargo fell from 65 degrees Monday afternoon to 22 degrees at midnight. Later in the week, it was three below Friday morning.
Monthly record highs and lows offer some insight as to the potential temperature swing in any month. The widest range of temperature records in any month is 114 in March: from 34 below in 1948 to 80 in 1910. February and April have a 113 degree difference in records. February temperatures range from 47 below in 1888 to 66 in 1958. April ranges from 13 below in 1881 to 100 in 1980.
The smallest range of temperatures is in the summer months. The smallest is in August from 32 in 1886 to 106 in 1976. The greatest range in any single year is in 1936, when it was as cold as -37 in February and then soared to 114 in July, for a difference if 151 degrees.
