Columbus climate — normals and trends
Columbus (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 10.0 °C and it receives 761 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (24.5 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-5.7 °C). Rainfall peaks in May.
Columbus averages 132 frost days, 47 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 92 rainy days per year.
Columbus has warmed by +1.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.22 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 137 to 127 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 42.4 °C (on 11 July 1954) and the coldest -34.2 °C (on 3 February 1996).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
ColumbusNebraska
- coords
- 41.43°, -97.37°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
10.0°C
Average daily high
15.7°C
Average daily low
4.7°C
Annual rainfall
761mm
Sunshine / day
9.4h
Mean relative humidity
68%
Average peak wind
22.8km/h
Seasonal range
30.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
132 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
47 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
92 d/yr
Annual snowfall
66.7 cm
Average feels-like high
13.2 °C
Average feels-like low
1.4 °C
Average peak gust
41.5 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
30 d/yr
Solar radiation
16.0 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.8 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.31 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
42.4 °C
11 July 1954
Coldest day
-34.2 °C
3 February 1996
Wettest day
98 mm
27 May 1945
Windiest day
70.7 km/h
22 December 1968
Strongest gust
117.0 km/h
7 March 1950
Hottest feels-like
44.9 °C
11 July 1954
Coldest feels-like
-40.4 °C
24 December 1983
Snowiest day
29.0 cm
27 November 1983
Sunniest day
15.0 h
12 June 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.1 °C | +1.6 °C | 6 mm | -17 mm |
| Feb | 0.4 °C | -1.8 °C | 23 mm | -5 mm |
| Mar | 14.7 °C | +6.3 °C | 55 mm | -3 mm |
| Apr | 17.5 °C | +1.4 °C | 97 mm | +12 mm |
| May | 22.7 °C | +0.8 °C | 67 mm | -51 mm |
| Jun | 29.1 °C | +1.6 °C | 117 mm | +8 mm |
| Jul | 29.9 °C | -0.1 °C | 103 mm | +30 mm |
| Aug | 27.4 °C | -1.6 °C | 187 mm | +107 mm |
| Sep | 25.8 °C | +1.1 °C | 77 mm | +6 mm |
| Oct | 19.8 °C | +1.8 °C | 25 mm | -28 mm |
| Nov | 10.8 °C | +1.9 °C | 25 mm | -11 mm |
| Dec | 5.6 °C | +3.8 °C | 8 mm | -21 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Columbus?
Columbus has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 10.0 °C and it receives 761 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Columbus?
The hottest day measured in Columbus between 1940 and 2025 was 11 July 1954, reaching 42.4 °C.
What is the coldest day in Columbus?
The coldest day measured in Columbus between 1940 and 2025 was 3 February 1996, at -34.2 °C.
Does it snow in Columbus?
Yes. Columbus gets on average 66.7 cm of snow per year and has around 132 frost days.
Has the climate of Columbus warmed?
Yes: Columbus warmed by +1.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Columbus?
The wettest day measured in Columbus between 1940 and 2025 was 27 May 1945, with 98 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Columbus?
The windiest day measured in Columbus between 1940 and 2025 was 22 December 1968, with winds reaching 70.7 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Columbus?
The warmest month in Columbus is July (24.5 °C on average); the coldest is January (-5.7 °C).
How much does it rain in Columbus?
Columbus receives on average 761 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 92 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Columbus?
Columbus gets on average 9.4 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,431 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Columbus?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Columbus between 1940 and 2025 was 27 November 1983, with 29.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Columbus?
Yes: Columbus has on average 30 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Columbus?
In Columbus, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 44.9 °C on 11 July 1954, and the lowest was -40.4 °C on 24 December 1983.
Compare Columbus with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Columbus