On Saturday January 15, 2022, the temperature dropped to negative 31 °F in Canaan Valley. This was the coldest temperature in Canaan Valley ever recorded. It eclipsed the previous record of negative 27 °F from January 21, 1985.

The weather station is managed by Virginia Tech at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Canaan is a local low point in West Virginia that causes a “frost hollow”. A frost hollow is a local low point in the landscape where cold air collects overnight. The cold heavy air flows down hill with gravity until it reaches the lowest point in the landscape.

While it is not as cold in Elkins, the colder temperatures warm over the next five days.