Why Minus 40 Is A Magical Number In Weather

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If you've ever tried to tell your friends about the weather in another country, there is likely one number that becomes a point of confusion: The temperature. For the Fahrenheit-faithful, 50 degrees sounds chilly, but for the Celsius club it might sound like you're going to roast your you-know-what off.

But there's one number in meteorology that lines up exactly between Fahrenheit and Celsius: minus 40 degrees!

When the actual temperature dips down to minus 40, you'll often see people lining up at the university sign in Fairbanks, Alaska, to catch the occasion on camera. There's even an official "40 Below Club" for the tradition.

Why the celebration when it is so cold?

The two temperature scales line up directly at that frigid number due to the math conversion between the two. We apologize in advance for the upcoming math!

If you're American and trying to figure out what your friend in France is talking about, you're likely to use the following formula:

(Temperature in Celsius * 1.8) + 32 to get the temperature you're more used to.

(-40°C * 1.8) + 32 = ??. Let's show our work...

(-72) + 32 =

-40.

If you want to go the other way, you can use this formula: (F - 32) / 1.8 = C, but for now, we've had enough math.

Jonathan Belles has been a graphics meteorologist and writer for weather.com for 8 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.