Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Columbus Airport United States

At Columbus Airport, the summers are long, hot, and muggy; the winters are short, cold, and wet; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 39°F to 92°F and is rarely below 25°F or above 97°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Columbus Airport for warm-weather activities are from late April to early June and from early September to late October.

The hot season lasts for 4.0 months, from May 21 to September 19, with an average daily high temperature above 85°F. The hottest month of the year at Columbus Airport is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 28 to February 23, with an average daily high temperature below 64°F. The coldest month of the year at Columbus Airport is January, with an average low of 39°F and high of 58°F.

At Columbus Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Columbus Airport begins around August 20 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around November 26.

The clearest month of the year at Columbus Airport is October, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 66% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 26 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around August 20.

The cloudiest month of the year at Columbus Airport is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 50% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Columbus Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.1 months, from May 27 to August 29, with a greater than 33% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Columbus Airport is July, with an average of 14.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.9 months, from August 29 to May 27. The month with the fewest wet days at Columbus Airport is October, with an average of 5.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Columbus Airport is July, with an average of 14.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 48% on July 8.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Columbus Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Columbus Airport. The month with the most rain at Columbus Airport is March, with an average rainfall of 4.8 inches.

The month with the least rain at Columbus Airport is October, with an average rainfall of 2.4 inches.

The length of the day at Columbus Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 1 minute of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 17 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:31 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 27 minutes later at 7:58 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:33 PM on December 3, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 17 minutes later at 8:51 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Columbus Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Columbus Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from May 13 to October 6, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 23% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Columbus Airport is July, with 27.3 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Columbus Airport is February, with 0.1 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Columbus Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from October 5 to May 12, with average wind speeds of more than 4.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Columbus Airport is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.8 months, from May 12 to October 5. The calmest month of the year at Columbus Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Columbus Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.3 weeks, from March 29 to April 28, with a peak percentage of 32% on April 17. The wind is most often from the west for 3.5 months, from April 28 to August 11 and for 3.1 months, from December 26 to March 29, with a peak percentage of 44% on July 14. The wind is most often from the east for 3.6 months, from August 11 to November 29, with a peak percentage of 47% on September 7.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Columbus Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Columbus Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are from late April to early June and from early September to late October, with a peak score in the first week of October.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Columbus Airport for hot-weather activities is from late May to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Columbus Airport typically lasts for 8.8 months (270 days), from around March 2 to around November 27, rarely starting before February 10 or after March 23, and rarely ending before November 6 or after December 19.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Columbus Airport should appear around January 28, only rarely appearing before January 16 or after February 13.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from April 8 to August 15, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Columbus Airport is May, with an average of 6.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from November 13 to February 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Columbus Airport is December, with an average of 2.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Columbus Airport are 32.516 deg latitude, -84.939 deg longitude, and 384 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Columbus Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 233 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 378 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (561 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,211 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Columbus Airport is covered by artificial surfaces (100%), within 10 miles by trees (61%) and artificial surfaces (35%), and within 50 miles by trees (84%) and cropland (11%).