Columbus climate
Columbus is warmest in July, with average highs of 33 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 4.2 °C. December is the wettest month (114 mm) and May the driest (66 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Columbus averages 1,148 mm of rain, 182 days above 25 °C and 20 days below freezing.
United States · 82 m elevation · population 206,922 · 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 33 °C
- Coldest month January 4.2 °C
- Driest month May 66 mm
- Wettest month December 114 mm
- Least cloud October 44 % cloud
- Hottest on record August 41 °C
- Coldest on record February -9.7 °C
What to expectColumbus through the year
Columbus has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 14 °C in January to 33 °C in July, a swing of 19 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 182 days a year reach 25 °C, 100 of them reach 30 °C, 20 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in August.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 66 mm in May to 114 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13.8 °C | 108 mm | 57 % |
| February | 16.1 °C | 112 mm | 59 % |
| March | 20.0 °C | 109 mm | 55 % |
| April | 24.3 °C | 86 mm | 51 % |
| May | 28.7 °C | 66 mm | 51 % |
| June | 31.4 °C | 93 mm | 56 % |
| July | 32.6 °C | 113 mm | 58 % |
| August | 32.1 °C | 96 mm | 57 % |
| September | 29.9 °C | 86 mm | 50 % |
| October | 24.8 °C | 74 mm | 44 % |
| November | 19.2 °C | 91 mm | 47 % |
| December | 15.0 °C | 114 mm | 58 % |
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 | 13.8 °C | 4.2 °C | 8.4 °C | 24.6 °C | -9.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| February | 16.1 °C | 5.7 °C | 10.3 °C | 26.3 °C | -9.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| March | 20.0 °C | 8.7 °C | 13.9 °C | 30.9 °C | -5.2 °C | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| April | 24.3 °C | 12.4 °C | 18.0 °C | 33.5 °C | 0.6 °C | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| May | 28.7 °C | 17.1 °C | 22.8 °C | 36.8 °C | 6.4 °C | 27 | 11 | 0 |
| June | 31.4 °C | 21.1 °C | 26.0 °C | 40.6 °C | 13.2 °C | 29 | 20 | 0 |
| July | 32.6 °C | 22.9 °C | 27.4 °C | 40.7 °C | 15.7 °C | 31 | 27 | 0 |
| August | 32.1 °C | 22.6 °C | 26.9 °C | 41.2 °C | 15.5 °C | 31 | 24 | 0 |
| September | 29.9 °C | 20.1 °C | 24.6 °C | 37.1 °C | 9.3 °C | 28 | 15 | 0 |
| October | 24.8 °C | 14.5 °C | 19.3 °C | 36.2 °C | 1.6 °C | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| November | 19.2 °C | 8.9 °C | 13.5 °C | 30.1 °C | -4.6 °C | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| December | 15.0 °C | 5.7 °C | 9.8 °C | 25.9 °C | -6.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 108 mm | 9 | 10 h/day | 57 % | 74 % | 16 km/h |
| February | 112 mm | 9 | 11 h/day | 59 % | 73 % | 16 km/h |
| March | 109 mm | 10 | 12 h/day | 55 % | 71 % | 16 km/h |
| April | 86 mm | 8 | 13 h/day | 51 % | 69 % | 16 km/h |
| May | 66 mm | 8 | 14 h/day | 51 % | 67 % | 14 km/h |
| June | 93 mm | 13 | 14 h/day | 56 % | 72 % | 12 km/h |
| July | 113 mm | 15 | 14 h/day | 58 % | 74 % | 11 km/h |
| August | 96 mm | 14 | 13 h/day | 57 % | 75 % | 11 km/h |
| September | 86 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 50 % | 71 % | 13 km/h |
| October | 74 mm | 6 | 11 h/day | 44 % | 70 % | 13 km/h |
| November | 91 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 47 % | 71 % | 14 km/h |
| December | 114 mm | 10 | 10 h/day | 58 % | 76 % | 15 km/h |
Where Columbus ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in North America in April | 32nd of 50 | 91/100 |
| Places with the best weather in North America in October | 41st of 50 | 92/100 |
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. April, May, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and May 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 33 °C. About 100 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 4.2 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 20 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Columbus?
December, averaging 114 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is May with 66 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,148 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
- 32.461°, -84.988° , 82 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.