Columbus, Ohio has a

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfa'') climate, characterized by humid, hot summers and cold winters, with no dry season. The ''Dfa'' climate has average temperatures above 22 °C (72 °F) during the warmest months, with at least four months averaging above 10 °C (50 °F), and below 0 °C (32 °F) during the coldest. The climate is transitional with the ''Cfa'' humid subtropical climate to the south, characterized by humid, hot summers and cool winters (an average temperature above 0 °C (32 °F) but below 18 °C (64.4 °F) during the coldest months). Columbus is within

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

hardiness zone 6a. Winter snowfall is relatively light, since the city is not in the typical path of strong winter lows, such as the

Nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use ...

s that strike cities farther east. It is also too far south and west for lake-effect snow from

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

to have much effect, although the lakes to the North contribute to long stretches of cloudy spells in winter. Columbus is subject to

severe weather Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmos ...

typical to the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Severe thunderstorms can bring

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

, large hail and on rare occasion

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es, especially during the spring and sometimes through fall.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Climate Of Columbus, Ohio Geography of Columbus, Ohio