Which US city has the harshest winter?

Cold, snow and wind each punish a different city hardest, so the answer depends on which one you would least like to live through.

1

Chicago

Lake-effect wind off Michigan turns an ordinary cold snap into something people write about.

2

Minneapolis

The coldest big city in the lower 48, with a downtown connected by heated skyways for a reason.

3

Buffalo

Lake-effect snow off Erie measured in feet rather than inches.

4

Anchorage

Alaska's largest city, where winter runs from October and daylight runs about five hours.

5

Fargo

Flat, open North Dakota prairie with nothing between the city and the wind.

6

Duluth

On the shore of Lake Superior, routinely the coldest place in the continental United States.

7

Milwaukee

Chicago's weather, slightly worse, with the same lake doing the damage.

8

Syracuse

The snowiest large city in America most years, and it competes for the title on purpose.

9

Detroit

Grey, wet Great Lakes winters that run long even when the temperature is unremarkable.

10

Cleveland

Lake Erie snow and a stretch of overcast days that rivals the Pacific Northwest.

11

Boston

Nor'easters that arrive off the Atlantic and shut the city down in a single day.

12

Green Bay

Cold enough that the local stadium's most famous game is named after the temperature.

13

Burlington

Vermont on Lake Champlain, with long snow cover and very little January thaw.

14

Rochester

Upstate New York, snowier than almost anywhere and rarely mentioned for it.

15

Denver

Mile-high storms that drop two feet and melt three days later.