How extreme does Columbus's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Columbus has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Bloomington Indiana Univ station 52 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Columbus has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

104°F Jul 31, 1999

That is about 19°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Columbus (typical high near 85°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 104°F Jul 31, 1999

2 104°F Jun 29, 2012

3 104°F Jun 30, 2012

❄️ Coldest night

-21°F Jan 21, 1985

About 42°F colder than a normal January night in Columbus (typical low near 21°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -21°F Jan 21, 1985

2 -20°F Jan 20, 1985

3 -20°F Jan 27, 1986

🌧️ Most rain in one day

5.80 in Jun 30, 2025

More rain in a single day than Columbus usually gets in the whole month of June (typical June total about 5.4 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 5.80 in Jun 30, 2025recent

2 5.50 in Jul 13, 1979

3 4.95 in Jun 19, 2021

⛄ Most snow in one day

13.5 in Dec 23, 2004

Close to a whole typical December's snow in one day (Columbus averages about 5 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 13.5 in Dec 23, 2004

2 10.2 in Jan 25, 2026

3 9.3 in Jan 17, 1994

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Columbus's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 104°F is about 19°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Columbus's warmest days reach the mid-80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 104°F and as low as −21°F. A single day has delivered over 6 inches of rain or close to 14 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Greenfield (NOAA GHCN station USC00123527), about 66 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

← Columbus city detail