Columbus climate
Columbus is warmest in July, with average highs of 29 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -5.4 °C. April is the wettest month (116 mm) and February the driest (72 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Columbus averages 1,070 mm of rain, 104 days above 25 °C and 97 days below freezing.
United States · 235 m elevation · population 913,175 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 29 °C
- Coldest month January -5.4 °C
- Driest month February 72 mm
- Wettest month April 116 mm
- Least cloud September 47 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 38 °C
- Coldest on record January -35 °C
What to expectColumbus through the year
Columbus has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 2.7 °C in January to 29 °C in July, a swing of 26 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 104 days a year reach 25 °C, 27 of them reach 30 °C, 97 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 38 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 72 mm in February to 116 mm in April. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.7 °C | 85 mm | 73 % |
| February | 5.0 °C | 72 mm | 70 % |
| March | 10.4 °C | 99 mm | 66 % |
| April | 17.2 °C | 116 mm | 63 % |
| May | 22.2 °C | 112 mm | 61 % |
| June | 26.7 °C | 104 mm | 57 % |
| July | 28.7 °C | 92 mm | 52 % |
| August | 28.1 °C | 76 mm | 50 % |
| September | 24.7 °C | 74 mm | 47 % |
| October | 18.0 °C | 75 mm | 54 % |
| November | 10.8 °C | 80 mm | 63 % |
| December | 4.9 °C | 85 mm | 73 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.7 °C | -5.4 °C | -1.8 °C | 20.1 °C | -34.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| February | 5.0 °C | -4.1 °C | -0.2 °C | 23.2 °C | -28.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| March | 10.4 °C | 0.3 °C | 4.7 °C | 27.2 °C | -21.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| April | 17.2 °C | 6.1 °C | 11.1 °C | 27.9 °C | -6.7 °C | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| May | 22.2 °C | 12.0 °C | 16.9 °C | 33.5 °C | -1.2 °C | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| June | 26.7 °C | 17.0 °C | 21.7 °C | 37.5 °C | 6.8 °C | 21 | 5 | 0 |
| July | 28.7 °C | 19.2 °C | 23.8 °C | 38.1 °C | 11.7 °C | 28 | 10 | 0 |
| August | 28.1 °C | 18.4 °C | 23.2 °C | 35.8 °C | 10.2 °C | 26 | 8 | 0 |
| September | 24.7 °C | 14.9 °C | 19.5 °C | 34.3 °C | 3.2 °C | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| October | 18.0 °C | 8.6 °C | 12.8 °C | 32.4 °C | -2.1 °C | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 10.8 °C | 2.6 °C | 6.1 °C | 25.3 °C | -15.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| December | 4.9 °C | -2.2 °C | 0.9 °C | 20.7 °C | -21.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 85 mm | 11 | 9.7 h/day | 73 % | 73 % | 20 km/h |
| February | 72 mm | 10 | 11 h/day | 70 % | 70 % | 20 km/h |
| March | 99 mm | 11 | 12 h/day | 66 % | 68 % | 20 km/h |
| April | 116 mm | 13 | 13 h/day | 63 % | 67 % | 21 km/h |
| May | 112 mm | 13 | 14 h/day | 61 % | 71 % | 18 km/h |
| June | 104 mm | 12 | 15 h/day | 57 % | 71 % | 16 km/h |
| July | 92 mm | 11 | 15 h/day | 52 % | 70 % | 14 km/h |
| August | 76 mm | 10 | 14 h/day | 50 % | 70 % | 14 km/h |
| September | 74 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 47 % | 69 % | 15 km/h |
| October | 75 mm | 9 | 11 h/day | 54 % | 70 % | 18 km/h |
| November | 80 mm | 9 | 10.0 h/day | 63 % | 71 % | 19 km/h |
| December | 85 mm | 10 | 9.4 h/day | 73 % | 74 % | 19 km/h |
Where Columbus ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in North America in September | 23rd of 50 | 91/100 |
| The coolest places in North America in February | 47th of 50 | 5.0 °C |
| The coolest places in North America in January | 47th of 50 | 2.7 °C |
| The coolest places in North America in December | 49th of 50 | 4.9 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Columbus.
QuestionsCommon questions about Columbus’s climate
When is the best time to visit Columbus?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Columbus get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 29 °C. About 27 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 38 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -5.4 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 97 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Columbus?
April, averaging 116 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is February with 72 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,070 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Columbus rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 39.961°, -82.999° , 235 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.