Climate of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio deals with a variety of weather every year altering the climate of the city. Tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, blizzards, and winter storms occur from time to time.
The last tornado to hit the Columbus area was on October 26, 2010 when an EF0 was confirmed by the National Weather Service 1 mile north of Groveport, Ohio.[1] The last tornado touchdown previous to that was on September 22, 2010 and was also rated EF0 with estimated wind speeds of 65 mph[2]
The last major snow storm with snow accumulation was recorded on March 8, 2008. 20.4 inches of snow fell in Columbus during the North American blizzard of 2008 that affected a large portion of the midwestern United States. The area also received frozen precipitation, resulting in power outages across the central Ohio area. The northern portion of the Columbus Metropolitan Area received 12 to 18 inches of snow accumulation, with major snow drifts.
| Climate data for Columbus, Ohio (Port Columbus Int'l), 1981–2010 normals,[lower-alpha 1] extremes 1878–present[lower-alpha 2] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 74 (23) |
78 (26) |
85 (29) |
90 (32) |
96 (36) |
102 (39) |
106 (41) |
103 (39) |
100 (38) |
94 (34) |
80 (27) |
76 (24) |
106 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 58.7 (14.8) |
63.3 (17.4) |
74.8 (23.8) |
82.2 (27.9) |
87.1 (30.6) |
92.2 (33.4) |
93.5 (34.2) |
92.7 (33.7) |
89.3 (31.8) |
82.1 (27.8) |
71.4 (21.9) |
61.3 (16.3) |
94.9 (34.9) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 36.5 (2.5) |
40.6 (4.8) |
51.1 (10.6) |
63.5 (17.5) |
72.9 (22.7) |
81.6 (27.6) |
84.9 (29.4) |
83.7 (28.7) |
77.0 (25.0) |
65.1 (18.4) |
52.6 (11.4) |
40.1 (4.5) |
62.6 (17.0) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 22.6 (−5.2) |
25.0 (−3.9) |
32.7 (0.4) |
42.6 (5.9) |
52.2 (11.2) |
61.5 (16.4) |
65.5 (18.6) |
64.1 (17.8) |
56.5 (13.6) |
45.0 (7.2) |
36.1 (2.3) |
26.8 (−2.9) |
44.3 (6.8) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 0.8 (−17.3) |
5.5 (−14.7) |
13.8 (−10.1) |
26.0 (−3.3) |
36.9 (2.7) |
47.2 (8.4) |
53.0 (11.7) |
52.3 (11.3) |
40.6 (4.8) |
29.9 (−1.2) |
20.4 (−6.4) |
7.4 (−13.7) |
−3.4 (−19.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −22 (−30) |
−20 (−29) |
−6 (−21) |
14 (−10) |
25 (−4) |
35 (2) |
43 (6) |
39 (4) |
31 (−1) |
17 (−8) |
−5 (−21) |
−17 (−27) |
−22 (−30) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.73 (69) |
2.25 (57) |
3.02 (77) |
3.40 (86) |
4.17 (106) |
4.01 (102) |
4.79 (122) |
3.32 (84) |
2.84 (72) |
2.61 (66) |
3.20 (81) |
2.97 (75) |
39.31 (998) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 9.2 (23) |
6.1 (15) |
4.2 (11) |
1.1 (2.8) |
trace | 0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.9 (2.3) |
5.0 (13) |
26.7 (68) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 14.0 | 11.4 | 12.8 | 13.7 | 13.9 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 9.2 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 11.4 | 13.2 | 139.2 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 9.1 | 6.6 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 6.5 | 29.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 71.4 | 69.5 | 64.5 | 62.5 | 66.5 | 68.5 | 70.6 | 72.8 | 72.8 | 69.3 | 71.8 | 74.1 | 69.5 |
| Average dew point °F (°C) | 18.1 (−7.7) |
20.5 (−6.4) |
28.6 (−1.9) |
37.4 (3.0) |
48.9 (9.4) |
58.3 (14.6) |
62.8 (17.1) |
61.7 (16.5) |
55.2 (12.9) |
42.6 (5.9) |
33.6 (0.9) |
24.3 (−4.3) |
41.0 (5.0) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 110.6 | 126.3 | 162.0 | 201.8 | 243.4 | 258.1 | 260.9 | 235.9 | 212.0 | 183.1 | 104.2 | 84.3 | 2,182.6 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 37 | 42 | 44 | 51 | 55 | 57 | 57 | 56 | 57 | 53 | 35 | 29 | 49 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Source: NOAA (sun, relative humidity, and dew point 1961–1990)[3][4][5][6] and Weather Atlas[7] | |||||||||||||
Notes
- Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010.
- Official records for Columbus were kept at downtown from July 1878 to December 1947, and at Port Columbus Int'l since January 1948. For more information, see Threadex
References
- http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/101026_rpts.html Storm Prediction Center Storm Reports
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-11-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Tornado Touchdown In Columbus Confirmed. Accessed 11/25/2010
- "Station Name: OH COLUMBUS PORT COLUMBUS INTL AP". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
- "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- "Records for Columbus". National Weather Service. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
- "WMO Climate Normals for COLUMBUS WSO AP, OH 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- "Columbus, Ohio, USA - Monthly weather forecast and Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
