COLUMBUS (WCMH) – Today we topped 90° for the 9th time this year. After a 3 1/2 day stretch of at or below normal temperatures, we finally got out of the cool pattern, and quickly.
So far we have had just 9 days with temps at or above 90°, while the average for the year is 20 days. This is a reading we have NO CHANCE of hitting this year.
Besides the cold last month of Summer, we started hitting 90° just a day later than what is our average first day:
Normally we hit our first 90° day on June 10th, we hit 90° on June 11th this year.
Below is a list of our seven, 90°+ days this year (so far)
- 90° June 11th
- 93° June 12th
- 93° June 16th
- 91° June 17th
- 90° June 18th
- 90° July 18th
- 91° July 19th
- 90° August 21st
- 90° September 21st
July sees the most 90°+ days here in Columbus
- July averages the most, with 8 days of 90°+ heat per year
- July of 2012 had the most days at or above 90°, with 22
- July of 2017 had just 2
On average (number of 90° days in each month):
- 0 days in April
- 1 day in May
- 4 days in June
- 8 days in July
- 5 days in August
- 2 days in September
- 0 days in October
Even with Autumn starting Friday, we still can pick up a few 90° days:
It is not uncommon even this late into the season to get 90° days, in fact, all our records are in the 90s still! Below is the maximum amount of days each month has hit 90° or greater.
- 12 days September 1897
- 2 days October 2007
If you remember, I did a story the start of August (about 50 days ago) stating I thought there was no chance to get to the normal 20 days at 90°
I mentioned the large surplus of rainfall to keep the ground moist, the grass green, and trees full (and green). This would keep the dewpoints up and make it hard to get hot. A unforeseen troughy pattern also helped my forecast be correct.
I also mentioned that we are in no way done with 90° days that early in the Summer. Believe it or not, our average last day for 90° days is August 30th. At that time, I pointed I forecast that we would have 3 more days of 90° or better heat.
I also said that our yearly high temperature of 93° for this year was safe. Right now, both of those forecasts could be safe/correct. We haven’t been close to 93° since then, however, if we hit 90°+ the next 2 days it will be 4 more days in total for the rest of the year.If 93° is our max temperature for the year (which appears safe), it makes it one of the lowest max temps for a year on record:
This would also make it one of the cooler yearly max temperatures. We have had two year with a max of only 90, four years with a high of 91, and twelve years with a max temp of 92°. That means if we held at 93° as our yearly max, this would tie for the 17th coolest max high temperature for a year in Columbus.We have a couple more chances at 90° in the next few days, and that should be it for the year:
In total, we have had 33 days in history that have seen 90° or higher later than September 21st. Today was the 10th time we got into the 90s on September 21st.
| date | # of 90s | max temp |
| 21-Sep | 10 | 96 |
| 22-Sep | 5 | 95 |
| 23-Sep | 7 | 93 |
| 24-Sep | 4 | 92 |
| 25-Sep | 4 | 93 |
| 26-Sep | 4 | 92 |
| 27-Sep | 2 | 90 |
| 28-Sep | 1 | 92 |
| 29-Sep | 1 | 96 |
| 30-Sep | 1 | 92 |
| 5-Oct | 1 | 90 |
| 7-Oct | 1 | 91 |
| 8-Oct | 1 | 90 |
| 15-Oct | 1 | 90 |
Once we get through the next 2-3 days, we should be done hitting 90 for the rest of the year. It appears cooler temperatures with a strong cold front will arrive mid-late next week.
If you ever have questions about 90 degree heat, heat records, climate, or any other weather, email me, dmazza@wcmh.com
-Dave