Top 10 U.S. States with the Most Unpredictable Weather
Texas is a state in the Southern USA. It is the second largest by area and population. Its largest city is Houston. An 80% chance of rain is more like a 30%, while a 30% chance of rain might bring you the worst storm you've ever seen. Constant wind and moisture shifts make the atmosphere continuously dynamic and highly energized. You're never too sure what the weather will do until the event starts unfolding.
Along with dealing with all severe hazards, our proximity to the Gulf brings extreme rainfall rates and training storms that can cause major flash flooding. Along with that, a lot of the state is subtropical, so you could go from a major flood event to a flash drought due to high temperatures and minimal to no rainfall, just for that drought to be hit by another flood event. I've seen summers with less than ten inches of rain and some with more than 40. One year, we had a streak of over two months with a chance of severe thunderstorms every day due to the West Texas dry line.
Oh yeah, then there's Arctic and cold snaps and tropical storm and hurricane activity as well. I can keep going, but y'all get the picture.
Arkansas is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Its name is of Siouan derivation, denoting the Quapaw Indians. I remember one day in January it was around 60 degrees, and the next day it was in its low 30's. I would also like to point out our weird rain in the summer. Not just are we humid, but we will get VERY unexpected rain. I remember one day I went to the pool when the forecast was clear sunny skies, and then we had this huge rainstorm that lasted for like 48 minutes, then it was all sunny again. - A native Arkansan
The weather forecast recently showed a low of 33 and a high of 78! By noon, it was 75 degrees and by midnight or around 2 in the morning, it was 32 degrees! Storms are crazy unpredictable, and you never know if you're going to have a tornado or a clear sunny day.
Truly a state with every extreme. It can get well over 100 degrees in the summer and below zero in the winter in the northern part of the state. There are periods of extreme drought and catastrophic flooding. Of course, we are consistently one of the worst-hit states for tornadoes every year. We are also one of the worst states for lightning strikes, hail storms, and high winds. Wouldn't trade it for anything, though. I love Oklahoma!
Oklahoma is so unpredictable, even the weatherman has no idea. The highest of technology can't even predict it! It changes its mind every 3 seconds. It's all a guessing game.
Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. My most extreme memory of this is a day in June when I was in elementary school, sitting at my younger sister's soccer game in a tank top and shorts. The sun was shining, and it was around 80 degrees. Later that day, we were taking my sister out for a celebratory dinner, and a winter storm warning came through. As we were leaving dinner, it started snowing and snowed the whole night.
Colorado's lowest low was -61 degrees Fahrenheit and its highest high was 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Not to mention being landlocked, next to mountains, and being a grassland all contribute to janky weather. You can wear shorts in the winter and a heavy coat around summertime!
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state located in the South Atlantic region of the United States. Virginia weather doesn't make up its mind. We have hot, humid summers and weak winters, overall. Let me tell you - spring and fall are wack. It'll be like March or May, and we'll get a snow day, randomly. It'll be November and 85 degrees. If you want to be a lifeguard, you'll close the pool a lot due to thunderstorms in the summer, because of the mountains. I live in the Piedmont region, and our weather is weird. Spend some time here, and you'll understand why we're number five on this list.
In early March especially, we go through like all four seasons in a week. It's insane.
Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States. It is the 5th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. Illinois should be number one for the most unpredictable weather I've seen in my life. I also lived in Mississippi. Pretty good weather, not the best, definitely not the worst either.
Illinois should be #1 because one day it's 34 degrees and snowing, then two days later it's 80 degrees and sunny.
It was 70 degrees for a whole week from the 4th to the 11th of November. Wake up, and it's 42 degrees.
Kansas is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. -20 degree wind chills Friday, high of 10, after 5 inches of snow Thursday, high of 62 on Saturday, tornado on Monday. Don't know what state tops Kansas.
I have worn a winter coat in July. In January, I had to take off all of my winter clothes and wear shorts and a tank top.
It could be nice one day and then freezing the next. It's not uncommon to experience all 4 seasons within a week, or almost skip a season entirely (e.g., going from summer to winter with maybe a week of fall weather).
Here is some forecast history to show the unpredictability of Michigan weather:
September 7, 2017 - High of 60 degrees
September 21, 2017 - High of 95 degrees and sunny, with high humidity
October 8, 2018 - 82 degrees and sunny
October 12, 2018 - 45 degrees and cloudy
April 17, 2018 - 30 degrees and snowing
April 30, 2018 - 70 degrees and sunny
May 28, 2018 - 100 degrees and sunny, with high humidity
December 19, 2018 - 50 degrees and sunny
Last week of January 2019 - Polar vortex with temperatures as low as -20 with 1-2 feet of snow
First week of February 2019 - 50 degrees
Summer 2019 - We were supposed to have a cooler summer this year based on predictions, and at the beginning of June, these predictions seemed true. Highs were only getting into the lower 70s. But by the end of June and into July, we were getting multiple days with highs in the 90s and upper 80s.
Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States. The weather here is ridiculous. Yesterday was 85 degrees, right now it's 40. Even weather channels have a hard time predicting weather here, especially West Tennessee.
If you don't like the weather here, wait five minutes is a common saying to explain Tennessee. Bipolar also works really well.
My parents never bothered planning more than a day or two ahead due to the weather being so unpredictable. The weather is more or less reliable than a politician here. Laugh out loud
It's normally like 70 degrees in the winter, and snow doesn't come until January or February in West Tennessee.
Missouri is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is the 21st most extensive, and the 18th most populous of the fifty states. Missouri should be at the top of the list. In the winter, the weather can go from being in the upper 60s to below freezing and snowing in a matter of hours. Springtime can have all kinds of crazy weather. In the wintertime, it will be warm, then storm really bad, followed by freezing temperatures and snow. It does not snow as much anymore, but the ice is really bad. Whatever time of year it is, don't be caught off guard.
Also, the weathermen always get something wrong somewhere, and forecasted changes multiple times a day.
South Dakota's weather doesn't even care about the season. It has snowed in the summer. In 2018, my hometown (Philip) was #1 coldest in the nation.
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. In April, it'll snow for a couple of inches, then the next day the snow will be melted.
Wisconsin goes from Spring to Winter to Spring to more Winter until June.
Ohio is a state in the midwestern region of the United States. Ohio is the 34th largest by area, the 7th most populous, and the 10th most densely populated of the 50 United States. We had all four seasons in one day before. In the morning, it was frosty and foggy like autumn, by early afternoon it was like higher 80 degrees, then it downpoured with lightning, and come nighttime, we got snowflakes. Also, if the weather calls for under a 50% chance of rain, expect rain. Over a 50% chance of rain, expect clear skies all day. One time the sun was shining, the next thing we know we're getting unexpected hail the size of quarters.
October 3, 2017, it was in the mid-30s in the morning and in the low 80s in the afternoon.
January 31, 2019, only had a high of 5 degrees, followed by 55 degrees on February 3rd.
October 11, 2019, the temperature nearly reached 80 in the afternoon. The next morning, it reached 39 with rain and even a couple of snowflakes.
October 15, 2019, had a morning frost and 32-degree temps, followed by a 70-degree sunny afternoon.
As of me writing this (1/9/20), it was 14 this morning, and it is supposed to be 63 in 2 days.
Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by the Mississippi River on the east and the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west.
Iowa is a strong Republican state with Constitutional Carry. Masks have never been mandatory and Iowa was never locked down. Iowa should be in the top 5 of this list. I've lived here for a long time, and it sucks when you're just going on a walk, a storm appears, can't see anything, strong winds, temperature drops, uh oh, I didn't get home on time, and now I just got frostbite and died.
Snows for two days, 85 degree heat the next three, and a thunderstorm on Friday with a tornado warning, in a week. In April. Iowa, man.
Iowa should be number 1. Iowa weather is like snow on one day and 100 degrees the next day.
Minnesota is a state in the Midwestern United States. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory. A place where your nostrils can freeze shut one day, and the next day it's sunny and 75...
Month by month the unpredictability changes. One month you can freeze shut, then the next month you will be sweating your off.
One day it's sub-zero, frostbite-inducing temperatures, the next day it's 70 with clear skies and no breeze.
Florida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Florida is the southeasternmost U.S. state, with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. It can be cold in May, warm in January, it constantly rains in summer, and it almost never rains in spring. One of my friends in middle school said we live in a bipolar state because of the weather. It's unpredictable.
It can be super cold and windy, raining cats and dogs one day, and then be nearly 100°F the next day. Hurricane season and summer take up like 75% of the year. Some days are so humid, it feels like you're swimming when you take in a breath. Not fun.
I don't know whether to laugh or scream that Florida is so low. Clearly, nobody here has visited Florida often.
One day it was like 70 degrees and then a couple of days later it was snowing hardcore, and I was freezing my off completely shocked. Honestly, don't move here if you are not prepared to carry two extra pairs of clothing to change into for the weather throughout the day.
I've been an Indiana resident for almost three years and it can be frustrating dealing with the weather here. It'll rain really hard for 15 minutes, then the sun will come out for the next 30 minutes, then the rain will return, all the while as you get wet and dry off, then get wet again. The sun and rain come and go as if you're living in a Stephen King novel.
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Georgia should be in the top ten. One day it's 95 and humid, the next it's 75 and dry, in fall. One day, there was both a downpour/tornado warning and a bunch of sunshine. In winter, one day it was 40 and snowy, the next it's 60 and sunny.
We can have all four seasons in a week's time! No telling what the weather is going to be like the next day. Can't fully trust the forecast.
Don't even get me started on anything other than summer. In summer, it's just hot. Anything else is completely unpredictable.
California is a state in the Southwestern United States. With 39.6 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles (423,970 square kilometers), California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento, and the largest city is Los Angeles... read more This should be number 1 because you may never know when a thunderstorm could happen. There are tons of atmospheric rivers, there are tornadoes around the north, it turns from hot to cold nonstop, and there is just overall confusing weather in California.
California should be number one because temperatures increase and decrease every day by a lot, and there are thunderstorms some days and tornadoes around the north.
It's cold one day, hot the next, and there are unpredictable floods, mudslides, and landslides.
Maryland is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. Today, the high is 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which wouldn't be that bad if it weren't winter, and then, it'll be back to a high of 32 degrees Fahrenheit. What's more, is on a sunny day, a wisp of cloud started raining and following me on my walk.
I've lived here until I was 19. In Baltimore, there are 50 days nonstop when the temperature doesn't rise above 95, and winter means heaven for kids because half an inch of snow here means death, so no school.
We got sunshowers, we got thunder without any clouds, and I'm sure at some point lightning struck on a starry night. I'll be out with my kids on a beautiful 80F day, clouds roll in, thunder hail in August, fifteen minutes later it's 115 in the heat index and mosquitoes everywhere.
Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England part of the northeastern region of the United States. Massachusetts should be first. One day it will be 70 degrees, and then the next it will be snowing and 14 degrees. We have a variety of weather, not just one type like Florida.
North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. One day, it rains even though you expect it to be sunny. Another day, it's sunny even though you expect it to rain. The Carolinas may have a mild climate and all, but don't expect the weather around here to be too easy to predict even with the help of weather forecasting. At least from my everyday experience living here.
The other day we had snow and frosted windows in the morning, by the afternoon it was 70 degrees...that same week we had 80-degree weather. We definitely see a variation of seasons every year, and depending on where you live in NC...We have areas susceptible to hurricanes and tornadoes. The good thing is if you don't like the weather, you don't have to wait long for it to change.
New York is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic Region. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With an estimated 19.54 million residents in 2018, it is the fourth most populous state. In order to distinguish the state from the city with the same name, it is... read more
Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States.
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. All these other states don't know weather change. We had snow in July before. One day it was 90 degrees in March, and the next day we had a record snowfall. March was hot, and towards the summer in April, we got more record snowfall. Some winters don't even get any snow or cold. Right now, I have rain and thunder for almost a whole month and a half straight!
I live in Pennsylvania and, dear God, you could be on your merry way on a nice spring day and the next hour it's snowing! You can't convince me otherwise.
I've lived in Pennsylvania my entire life, and the weather one day can be 80 degrees and sunny, and the next day can be 50 degrees and rainy. We have had all four seasons in a day before.