Columbus, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Columbus's normal year runs from 39°F January nights to 98°F August afternoons, with 45.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 20.4°C, January lows of 4°C, August highs of 37°C, 1,144 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationColumbus
- Station IDUSC00411911
- Location29.70°N 96.57°W
- Elevation225 ft (69 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population3,938
On October 23, the normal high in Columbus is 83°F and the normal low 54°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Columbus.
- Jan 64° 39°
- Feb 68° 43°
- Mar 75° 49°
- Apr 81° 56°
- May 88° 64°
- Jun 93° 70°
- Jul 96° 71°
- Aug 98° 71°
- Sep 93° 66°
- Oct 85° 56°
- Nov 74° 47°
- Dec 66° 41°
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?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 98°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 39°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.11 in), the least in February (2.81 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64°F | 39°F | 51.3°F | 3.67 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 30 min |
| February | 68°F | 43°F | 55.6°F | 2.81 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 75°F | 49°F | 62.1°F | 3.32 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 12 h |
| April | 81°F | 56°F | 68.2°F | 3.77 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 88°F | 64°F | 75.8°F | 4.78 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 93°F | 70°F | 81.4°F | 5.11 | 8 | 25 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 96°F | 71°F | 83.5°F | 2.93 | 6 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| August | 98°F | 71°F | 84.2°F | 3.30 | 6 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| September | 93°F | 66°F | 79.3°F | 3.26 | 8 | 23 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 85°F | 56°F | 70.6°F | 4.69 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 74°F | 47°F | 60.5°F | 4.02 | 8 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 66°F | 41°F | 53.4°F | 3.38 | 8 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 82°F | 56°F | 68.8°F | 45.04 | 91 | 132 | 30 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 4°C | 10.7°C | 93 mm |
| February | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 71 mm |
| March | 24°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 84 mm |
| April | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 96 mm |
| May | 31°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 121 mm |
| June | 34°C | 21°C | 27.4°C | 130 mm |
| July | 36°C | 22°C | 28.6°C | 74 mm |
| August | 37°C | 21°C | 29.0°C | 84 mm |
| September | 34°C | 19°C | 26.3°C | 83 mm |
| October | 30°C | 13°C | 21.4°C | 119 mm |
| November | 23°C | 8°C | 15.8°C | 102 mm |
| December | 19°C | 5°C | 11.9°C | 86 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00411911; 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 February, March, April, November and December. Of those, April 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 USC00411911.
When is the last frost in Columbus?
In Columbus, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 9 in half of years and after March 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before November 1 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
- March 91 year in 10 after March 31; 9 in 10 after February 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 255 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 284 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 25 in half of springs and before December 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Columbus in zone 9a in ZIP code 78934, 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 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°F (22 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00411911; 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, 132 days a year reach 90°F (26 of them 100°F or more), 30 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 91 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 132a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 30a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 91a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1962) is 116°F, on September 4, 2000; the lowest is 4°F, on December 24, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2004, with 65.13 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 8.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00411911; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00411911. 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, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (85%) and February the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.9 |
| February | 66% | 3.4 |
| March | 71% | 4.4 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 78% | 6.0 |
| June | 83% | 6.5 |
| July | 84% | 6.4 |
| August | 85% | 6.1 |
| September | 81% | 5.1 |
| October | 82% | 4.4 |
| November | 77% | 3.3 |
| December | 70% | 2.7 |
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 1,556 heating degree days, 71% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,984 cooling degree days, 3.3 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 7,171 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 434 | 11 |
| February | 287 | 24 |
| March | 161 | 69 |
| April | 49 | 146 |
| May | 4 | 341 |
| June | 0 | 494 |
| July | 0 | 574 |
| August | 0 | 597 |
| September | 2 | 431 |
| October | 42 | 216 |
| November | 197 | 62 |
| December | 380 | 21 |
| Year (annual) | 1,556 | 2,984 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00411911. 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?
2024 averaged 73.1°F, 4.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 68.8°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 73.2°F | +4.4°F | 41.71 |
| 2024 | 73.1°F | +4.3°F | 46.42 |
Over 31 complete years from 1963 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.4°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00411911; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Columbus's climate compare?
Columbus is warmer than 235 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 253. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 68.8°F is warmer than 94%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Columbus is Cfa: temperate, 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?
5 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.
- Weimar, TX2,194 people · 12 mi W
- Rock Island, TX371 people · 13 mi S
- Glidden, TX341 people · 1 mi W
- New Ulm, TX322 people · 14 mi N
- Sheridan, TX172 people · 14 mi SW
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 64°F and a normal low of 39°F. The warmest is August (98°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Columbus?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Columbus?
June, with 5.11 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.81 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Columbus in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Columbus in zone 9a in ZIP code 78934, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Columbus's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Columbus?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 9; in one year in ten it comes after March 31. Waiting until March 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eagle Lake, TX14 miles from this station, 69.1°F a year
- La Grange, TX24 miles from this station, 68.9°F a year
- Sealy, TX26 miles from this station, 69.4°F a year
- Hallettsville, TX27 miles from this station, 71.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made