Climate averages 1991–2020
Columbus weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 10th warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Columbus: daytime highs average 4.5°C and nights cool to about -2.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 86 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 24 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dayton (104 km away). In December its highs average 4.6°C, about as warm as Columbus, with 85 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Columbus ranks 378th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 304th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Columbus is 6.1°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 2.3°C to 2.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 86 mm to 84 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Columbus climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.2°C-6.1°C | -6.1°C | 84 | 10.7 | 9.710 h |
| February | 4.4°C-4.7°C | -4.7°C | 71 | 9.4 | 10.711 h |
| March | 9.7°C-0.2°C | -0.2°C | 98 | 11.2 | 11.912 h |
| April | 16.6°C5.6°C | 5.6°C | 115 | 12.4 | 13.213 h |
| May | 21.8°C11.6°C | 11.6°C | 113 | 13.3 | 14.414 h |
| June | 26.3°C16.8°C | 16.8°C | 103 | 11.9 | 15.015 h |
| July | 28.3°C19.0°C | 19.0°C | 88 | 11.1 | 14.715 h |
| August | 27.8°C18.3°C | 18.3°C | 73 | 9.6 | 13.714 h |
| September | 24.3°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 73 | 8.3 | 12.512 h |
| October | 17.5°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 74 | 9.0 | 11.211 h |
| November | 10.3°C2.1°C | 2.1°C | 80 | 9.4 | 10.010 h |
| December, selected | 4.5°C-2.7°C | -2.7°C | 86 | 10.3 | 9.49 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Dayton in DecemberUnited States · 104 kmHigh 4.6°C · Low -2.3°C · 85 mm rain
- Cincinnati in DecemberUnited States · 160 kmHigh 5.6°C · Low -1.9°C · 92 mm rain
- Canton (Ohio), United States in DecemberUnited States · 166 kmHigh 3.7°C · Low -3.1°C · 80 mm rain
- Meads in DecemberUnited States · 174 kmHigh 7.7°C · Low 0.1°C · 95 mm rain
- Akron in DecemberUnited States · 177 kmHigh 3.5°C · Low -3.2°C · 81 mm rain
- Parma, United States in DecemberUnited States · 193 kmHigh 3.3°C · Low -2.4°C · 81 mm rain
- Toledo, United States in DecemberUnited States · 195 kmHigh 2.9°C · Low -3.5°C · 63 mm rain
- Cleveland in DecemberUnited States · 203 kmHigh 3.5°C · Low -1.8°C · 81 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Columbus) is explained once on the Columbus year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.