What are some weather extremes on Earth?

The Earth has a vast surface area, nearly 200 million square miles. A great variation in weather covers this expanse. The following list describes just a few places with unusual distinctions:

The lowest temperature reading ever measured was -129F (-89.2C) in Antarctica (1983).

6.3 feet (approx. 1.9 meters) of snow fell in 24 hours at Silver Lake, Colorado (1921).

Mt. Waialeale in Kauai, Hawaii, averages 460 inches of rain (11,685 mm / 38 feet / 11.58 meters) each year. At an altitude of nearly a mile, the cold temperatures squeeze the moisture from rising ocean air.

Northern Chile is one of the driest places on Earth. Cold ocean currents prevent the formation of clouds, and in places there is no recorded rain in over 400 years. Ground water and dew formation allow the growth of hardy grasses.

Central Uganda in Africa averages 242 thunderstorm days each year.

The highest air temperature ever recorded was 136F (58C), in Libya. This occurred in 1922, in the shade. Death Valley, California, has recorded a temperature of 134F (56.7C).

Holt, Missouri, experienced 12 inches (approx. 30.5 centimeters) of rain in just 42 minutes, in 1947.