She was eleven stories tall. Her arms were made of spruce trees. Her mouth was made from car tires. Her name was Olympia Snowwoman. She was built in 2008 in the town of Bethel, Maine to break the world record for the largest snowperson. In 2020, two people in Austria broke that record. They built a larger snowman named Riesi.
Winter can be a time for communities to get together to try to break winter records. For example, in February 2007, 8,962 people traveled to the State Capitol Grounds of Bismarck, North Dakota. They broke the record for the most people making snow angels at the same time. On January 31, 2016, the town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, organized an event with 7,681 people to break the record for the largest outdoor snowball fight. The largest igloo was built by a hotel company in Zermatt, Switzerland. It was around 34 feet tall.
Not all winter records are made by people. Between April 14-15, 6.3 feet of snow fell on the town of Silver Lake, Colorado. This set the record for the snowiest day in the United States. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the United States was -80° F on January 23, 1971. It was recorded just north of Fairbanks, Alaska. The lowest temperature in the continental United States was -70° F. This was in Rogers Pass, Montana on January 20, 1954.
So, if you are going out and trying to break a winter record, be sure to bundle up. It can get very cold out there!
What Do You Think? Would you like to set a record this winter? What would you do?
Photo Credit: Reprinted with permission of The Bethel Citizen
