If you are sizing up a move, the weather in Columbus is textbook humid continental. It has cold winters, hot summers, and gentle springs and autumns. The city is a long way inland, so there’s no large lake or sea close enough to moderate the air, and the latitude is fairly far north, so the seasonal variation is wider than in much of the country. Most residents rate autumn the finest season of the year, when the air turns crisp and the summer humidity finally breaks.
Summer afternoons are warm and have highs of around 86°F (30°C). Humidity is the part that newcomers underestimate. Warm, wet air from the Gulf of Mexico makes Columbus summers feel heavier and stickier than the thermometer alone would suggest.
Winter is cold and grey. Daytime highs are rarely above 41°F (5°C), and nights are usually below freezing. Grey is the operative word here: Columbus is one of the cloudiest big cities in the United States, and in December, the sky is overcast roughly seven out of ten days. Snow falls every winter, although Columbus is spared the heaviest of it. The city is too far south and west of Lake Erie to catch much lake effect snow, and seasonal totals are around 22 to 28 inches (56 to 71cm), well short of snowier neighbours like Cleveland.
Columbus weather is a quick-change artist. A mild afternoon and a hard freeze can arrive within the same 24 hours, most often in spring, so seasoned residents dress in layers and keep half an eye on the forecast. Follow the local forecast and act on any watch or warning rather than waiting it out. From spring onwards, plenty of residents keep a weather app or a NOAA weather radio within reach.