What the report measures
The Climate Stress Score answers a narrow question: how demanding is the outdoor physical environment under a consistent city-level model? It uses January normal minimum temperature, months with normal lows below freezing and annual precipitation. Electricity price is published separately because expensive energy does not make weather physically harsher.
Ten highest-stress indexed metros
| Rank | Metro | Climate | Jan. low | Freeze months | Precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Fargo, ND | 76.7 | 0.2°F | 6 | 23.9 in |
| #2 | Anchorage, AK | 70.2 | 8.2°F | 7 | 14.2 in |
| #3 | Minneapolis, MN | 66.0 | 8.1°F | 5 | 34.4 in |
| #4 | Sioux Falls, SD | 65.7 | 7.4°F | 5 | 28.3 in |
| #5 | Madison, WI | 63.8 | 11.1°F | 5 | 40.2 in |
| #6 | Manchester, NH | 62.1 | 13.0°F | 5 | 42.5 in |
| #7 | Portland, ME | 60.3 | 15.6°F | 5 | 48.1 in |
| #8 | Des Moines, IA | 60.2 | 13.8°F | 5 | 36.5 in |
| #9 | Omaha, NE | 57.8 | 15.2°F | 5 | 31.9 in |
| #10 | Burlington, VT | 57.4 | 12.9°F | 4 | 37.5 in |
Three findings
1. Persistent cold matters more than one winter number.
January minimum temperature receives the most weight, but the index separately counts how many months normally fall below freezing.
2. Rain and snow are different fields.
Precipitation contributes to exterior exposure. Snowfall is descriptive and not an index component. Missing snow records are unavailable and excluded from snow rankings.
3. Climate difficulty and operating expense are not the same ranking.
The city with the highest physical climate stress is not necessarily the most expensive place to run an electric heater.
Method and reproducibility
Version 2.0 uses NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals. Full formulas, station rules and limitations are published in the methodology.
How to cite this report
OutdoorSteamSauna.com. “2026 U.S. Outdoor Sauna Climate Report.” September 16, 2026. Based on Dataset v2.0.