Columbus, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Columbus's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 28.7 inches of precipitation and 26 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 31°C, 728 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationColumbus (3 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00251825
- Location41.46°N 97.33°W
- Elevation1,450 ft (442 m)
- Population25,126
On October 22, the normal high in Columbus is 60°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Columbus.
- Jan 32° 14°
- Feb 37° 18°
- Mar 50° 28°
- Apr 62° 39°
- May 73° 51°
- Jun 83° 62°
- Jul 87° 66°
- Aug 84° 64°
- Sep 77° 55°
- Oct 63° 41°
- Nov 48° 28°
- Dec 36° 18°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Columbus each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.69 in), the least in January (0.65 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 14°F | 23.1°F | 0.65 | 6.6 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 18°F | 27.2°F | 0.73 | 6.0 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 28°F | 38.9°F | 1.39 | 3.8 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 2.93 | 1.1 | 9 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 61.9°F | 4.57 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 4.69 | 0.0 | 10 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 87°F | 66°F | 76.4°F | 3.46 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 84°F | 64°F | 73.9°F | 3.27 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 55°F | 65.9°F | 2.48 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 41°F | 52.0°F | 2.35 | 0.7 | 7 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 28°F | 37.7°F | 1.22 | 1.8 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 36°F | 18°F | 26.6°F | 0.93 | 5.6 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 40°F | 50.5°F | 28.67 | 25.6 | 89 | 32 | 141 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −10°C | −4.9°C | 17 mm | 17 cm |
| February | 3°C | −8°C | −2.7°C | 19 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 10°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 35 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 74 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 23°C | 11°C | 16.6°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 24.7°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.3°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 11.1°C | 60 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 31 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −3.0°C | 24 mm | 14 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00251825; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Columbus?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00251825.
When is the last frost in Columbus?
In Columbus, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before September 30 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 211 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 174 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 193 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Columbus in zone 5b in ZIP code 68601, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Columbus's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00251825; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Columbus?
In a normal year in Columbus, 32 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 141 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 89 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 32a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 141a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 89a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 115°F, on July 25, 1936; the lowest is −29°F, on January 13, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 40.53 in; the snowiest season is 1983–84, with 65.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00251825; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00251825. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Columbus?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Columbus, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and March the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.2 |
| February | 76% | 3.1 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.1 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.7 |
| July | 84% | 6.7 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 77% | 3.3 |
| November | 77% | 2.4 |
| December | 72% | 1.8 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Columbus need?
A normal year in Columbus brings 6,322 heating degree days, 18% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,087 cooling degree days, 20% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,433 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,300 | 0 |
| February | 1,060 | 0 |
| March | 810 | 1 |
| April | 448 | 8 |
| May | 168 | 71 |
| June | 17 | 239 |
| July | 2 | 357 |
| August | 6 | 282 |
| September | 89 | 118 |
| October | 414 | 12 |
| November | 819 | 0 |
| December | 1,190 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,322 | 1,087 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00251825. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Columbus been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.0°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.5°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.0°F | +1.5°F | 27.05 | 21.5 |
| 2022 | 50.6°F | +0.1°F | 15.03 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | 51.9°F | +1.4°F | 23.54 | 19.0 |
| 2024 | 52.8°F | +2.3°F | 28.37 | 15.5 |
| 2025 | 52.0°F | +1.5°F | 31.49 | 21.3 |
Over 102 complete years from 1897 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00251825; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Columbus's climate compare?
Columbus is warmer than 87 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 89. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.5°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Columbus is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Columbus share this climate record?
6 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Schuyler, NE6,708 people · 14 mi E
- Lakeview, NE446 people · 3 mi NW
- Duncan, NE388 people · 10 mi SW
- Platte Center, NE339 people · 10 mi NW
- Richland, NE81 people · 6 mi E
- Tarnov, NE51 people · 14 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Columbus's climate
What is the coldest month in Columbus?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Columbus?
Yes: 26 inches in a normal year, falling on 14 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (6.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Columbus?
June, with 4.69 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.65 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Columbus in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Columbus in zone 5b in ZIP code 68601, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Columbus's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Columbus?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- David City, NE18 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Clarkson, NE21 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Osceola, NE22 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Genoa, NE22 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made