Rutgers in the Big Ten: a tradition of athletics, academics, and WEATHER

June 30, 2014 - 9:53am -- Dan Zarrow

Rutgers University Football Stadium
High Point Solutions Stadium at Rutgers University. (Photo: Wikipedia)

On July 1, Rutgers University officially becomes a member of the Big Ten Conference. In doing so, the Scarlet Knights join thirteen other schools in the Big Ten, bringing with it "new opportunities for academic collaboration and athletic competition."

In the spirit of that friendly, scholastic competition, we are putting the 14 Big Ten schools head-to-head in a weather and climatology showdown! Which school in which city and which state is the hottest? The coldest? The wettest? The snowiest? Keep scrolling to find out!


The Big Ten: A Hub for Weather and Climate

In addition to a long-standing tradition of outstanding athletics and academics, 10 of the 14 universities in the Big Ten are home to their respective state's climate office. Each state climatologist serves as a focal point for all activities pertaining to the weather and climate of their state. The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist at Rutgers University is proud to be among some great climatological company in the Big Ten.


Big Ten universities home to a State Climate Office
School, City, State State Climate Office
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick / Piscataway, NJ
Office of the NJ State Climatologist
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana / Champaign, IL
Illinois State Climatologist Office
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
Maryland State Climatologist's Office
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Michigan State Climatologist's Office
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN
Minnesota State Climatology Office
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Nebraska State Climate Office
Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
The State Climatology Office for Ohio
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
Pennsylvania State Climatologist
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
Indiana State Climate Office
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI
Wisconsin State Climatology Office


Big Ten universities without a State Climate Office on campus
School, City, State State Climate Office
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
located at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Iowa State Climatologist's Office
located at the Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
located at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
located at University of Illinois, Champaign, IL


Methodology

Summary data in the tables below have been calculated from one representative weather station near each school. Each school's station is determined according to the following criteria:

  • NWS Cooperative Network station
  • actively reporting as of 2014
  • as close as possible to a school's primary football stadium
  • has at least 30 complete years of historical data
  • has published 1981-2010 climate normals for temperature, precipitation, and snowfall
Weather Stations used in Analysis
School Nearest Station Period of Record
Illinois #118740: URBANA 1888 - 2014  (126 years)
Indiana #120784: BLOOMINGTON IND UN 1895 - 2014  (119 years)
Iowa #134101: IOWA CITY 1893 - 2014  (121 years)
Maryland #180700: BELTSVILLE 1941 - 2014  (73 years)
Michigan #200230: ANN ARBOR U OF MI 1881 - 2014  (133 years)
Michigan State #204641: LANSING CAPITAL CITY AP 1948 - 2014  (66 years)
Minnesota #215435: MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL AP 1938 - 2014  (76 years)
Nebraska #254795: LINCOLN MUNI AP 1948 - 2014  (66 years)
Northwestern #111497: CHICAGO BOTANICAL GARDEN 1981 - 2014  (33 years)
Ohio State #331786: COLUMBUS PORT COLUMBUS INTL AP 1948 - 2014  (66 years)
Penn State #368449: STATE COLLEGE 1893 - 2014  (121 years)
Purdue #129430: WEST LAFAYETTE 6 NW 1901 - 2014  (113 years)
Rutgers #286055: NEW BRUNSWICK 3 SE 1968* - 2014  (46* years)
Wisconsin #471416: CHARMANY FARM 1959 - 2014  (55 years)


*NOTE: The New Brunswick climate record is a bit odd, because the official weather station was issued new ID numbers in 1912 and 1968. Thus, even though an almost-continuous climate record exists for New Brunswick from 1896 to present day, the most recent station ID (286055) has only been active since 1968. For this analysis, averages and normals have been computed for the most recent period, while extreme values use the entire period of record.


The Warmest

While most students may be away from campus for Summer Break, some of the Big Ten schools get downright steamy in the summertime. The dry, windy furnace of the Central Plains pushes Nebraska to the top of list in terms of hottest average July high temperatures. Meanwhile, in terms of extreme temperatures, every Big Ten city has exceeded 100 degrees at some point in its history. The hottest single day temperature occurred near Purdue during the Dust Bowl era in July 1936: a scorching 111 degrees. Note that both Indiana and Iowa also posted their all-time high temperature in July 1936.

Average July Maximum Temperature
Rank School Temp (°F)
1 Nebraska 89.0
2 Maryland 87.7
3 Iowa 87.0
4 Rutgers 85.6
5 Indiana 85.4
6 Illinois 85.0
7 Ohio State 84.9
8 Purdue 84.0
9 Minnesota 83.4
10 Michigan 83.2
11 Northwestern 82.6
12 Michigan State 82.4
13 Wisconsin 82.0
14 Penn State 81.6


Hottest Daily Temperature
Rank School Temp (°F) Date
1 Purdue 111 1936-07-14
2 Indiana 110 1936-07-15
3 Illinois 109 1954-07-14
3 Iowa 109 1936-07-14
5 Nebraska 108 2006-07-19
6 Rutgers 106 1918-08-07
7 Michigan 105 1934-07-24
7 Minnesota 105 1988-07-31
7 Northwestern 105 2012-07-06
10 Ohio State 104 1954-07-14
11 Maryland 103 1988-07-17
11 Michigan State 103 2012-07-06
11 Wisconsin 103 2012-07-07
14 Penn State 102 1988-07-17


The Coldest

Not surprisingly, the northern winter wonderlands of Minnesota and Wisconsin top both the coldest average January low temperatures and the coldest daily temperature lists. According to the National Weather Service, a temperature of -34°F and a light wind at 10 mph can cause dangerous frostbite in just 10 minutes. For other schools that are further south or near large bodies of water (such as the Atlantic Ocean or Great Lakes), winter temperatures are moderated and not as extreme.

Average January Minimum Temperature
Rank School Temp (°F)
1 Minnesota 7.5
2 Wisconsin 10.7
3 Nebraska 13.8
4 Iowa 14.0
5 Northwestern 15.9
6 Purdue 16.5
7 Illinois 16.7
8 Michigan State 16.8
9 Michigan 17.9
10 Penn State 20.2
11 Indiana 20.4
12 Rutgers 21.8
13 Ohio State 22.6
14 Maryland 23.7


Coldest Daily Temperature
Rank School Temp (°F) Date
1 Minnesota -34 1970-01-19
1 Wisconsin -34 1994-01-19
3 Nebraska -33 1974-01-12
4 Iowa -32 1905-02-13
5 Michigan State -29 1981-01-04
6 Northwestern -27 1982-01-10
7 Illinois -25 1999-01-05
8 Purdue -24 1985-01-21
9 Michigan -23 1885-02-11
10 Ohio State -22 1994-01-19
11 Indiana -21 1985-01-21
12 Penn State -20 1899-02-10
13 Rutgers -16 1934-02-09
14 Maryland -15 1957-01-18


The Wettest

Rutgers takes home the crown for the highest average annual precipitation, thanks to the influence of both tropical (ocean-based) and continental (land-based) weather systems. The highest 1-day rainfall total in the Big Ten occurred at Maryland in August 13, 1955 as a result of Hurricane Connie, which caused massive flooding across much of the mid-Atlantic region. The second place 1-day total from Minnesota was a result of the 1987 Twin Cities Superstorm and the 7.96" daily rainfall record at Rutgers came from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Average Annual Precipitation
Rank School Precip (in.)
1 Rutgers 48.93
2 Indiana 47.36
3 Maryland 41.84
4 Illinois 41.38
5 Penn State 39.62
6 Ohio State 39.31
7 Purdue 38.19
8 Northwestern 37.75
9 Iowa 37.59
10 Michigan 37.56
11 Wisconsin 36.13
12 Michigan State 31.77
13 Minnesota 30.61
14 Nebraska 28.95


Greatest Daily Precipitation Total
Rank School Precip (in.) Date
1 Maryland 9.38 1955-08-13
2 Minnesota 9.15 1987-07-23
3 Rutgers 7.96 2011-08-28
4 Iowa 6.91 1962-07-14
5 Indiana 6.56 1913-03-25
6 Wisconsin 5.85 2001-08-02
7 Northwestern 5.54 1987-08-14
8 Nebraska 5.42 1990-07-25
9 Illinois 5.32 1993-08-12
10 Ohio State 5.13 1992-07-13
11 Penn State 5.05 2004-09-18
12 Michigan State 4.95 1986-06-11
13 Purdue 4.85 1939-07-18
14 Michigan 4.54 1998-08-06


The Snowiest

From southwest to northwest, there is a large range of snowfall conditions across the Big Ten. Michigan edges Minnesota in the overall race for average seasonal snowfall, likely due to the influence of lake-effect snow from the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, Rutgers, on average, only experiences about half the snowfall of Michigan and Maryland sees about a quarter of Michigan's total. The Big Ten snowstorm award goes to Penn State, however, as a late-season snowstorm in March 1994 dumped over two feet of snow in one day, capping off one the snowiest seasons of all time for the Northeast US. Every one of the Big Ten schools has seen a one-day snow total over a foot.

Average Seasonal Snowfall
Rank School Snow (in.)
1 Michigan 57.3
2 Minnesota 54.4
3 Michigan State 51.1
4 Penn State 45.6
5 Wisconsin 37.9
6 Northwestern 33.4
7 Rutgers 28.4
8 Iowa 27.2
9 Ohio State 26.7
10 Nebraska 25.9
11 Illinois 23.2
12 Purdue 18.3
13 Indiana 15.8
14 Maryland 15.2


Greatest Daily Snowfall Total
Rank School Snow (in.) Date
1 Penn State 26.6 1994-03-03
2 Maryland 22.0 2010-02-06
3 Michigan 21.0 1931-02-07
4 Iowa 20.0 1907-12-31
5 Rutgers 19.8 2006-02-12
6 Minnesota 18.5 1991-11-01
7 Indiana 16.0 1904-01-26
8 Ohio State 15.5 2008-03-08
9 Michigan State 15.4 1967-01-26
10 Wisconsin 15.0 1970-12-11
11 Illinois 14.0 1906-03-20
11 Purdue 14.0 1929-12-18
13 Nebraska 13.2 1997-10-26
14 Northwestern 13.0 2011-02-02


Wrapping Up

So who takes home the trophy in the Big Ten Weather Championship? Minnesota takes top honors twice, both for cold temperatures, while Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan, and Penn State each take the top prize in one category. Iowa brought a consistent performance, ranking in the top 5 for all but two of these lists. Honorable mention goes to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern and Ohio State - even though these schools finished in the middle of the pack throughout this analysis, each school's distinct climatological character deserves to be celebrated.

While the weather may vary from school to school within the Big Ten, one fact is certain... The competition among these 14 schools will be heating up on the field this fall!