Only about 22% of Columbus’ land is made up by tree cover, which is lower than many of its national peers. Because of this, the city has come up with the Columbus Urban Forestry Plan, which in part seeks to plant millions of trees in the coming years, potentially beginning next year. You can view the plan, timeline, tree canopy statistics and neighborhood maps all the way down to a block by block level at the following link: Forestry Plan
Let’s be honest, Summer 2020 is hardly shaping up to be one of swimming pools and BBQs and beach vacations. With the virus continuing to rage nationally, it’s going to be the kind of summer many people watch from their porches or couches. So in that sense, 2020 certainly ranks up there as one of the worst summers ever. On the other hand, there’s probably going to be a bit less concern as to how the weather is. Still, here’s a look back on the best and worst Columbus summers when it comes to weather.
I used a basic ranking system, much like I did with my Worst Winters of All Time post a few years back, to determine the severity of each summer’s weather. Here was the point system I used.
On temperature, I added one point for each of the following:
-# of 86 or Above Highs
-# of 70 or Above Lows
-# of 70 or Below Highs
-# of 50 or Below Lows
Each earned the summer a point for each day that featured these conditions, as either extreme heat or low temperatures during summer are generally considered a negative.
With precipitation, I added one point for each of the following:
-# of days with measurable precipitation.
-# of days with at least 1″+ of precipitation.
The more points a summer got, the worse the weather was overall.
Top 10 Worst Summers
1. 1935: 110
2. 1988: 108
3. 1949: 99
4. 1936, 1944, 1955: 97
5. 2012: 96
6. 1881, 1947, 1980, 1999, 2005: 94
7. 1901, 1916, 1931: 93
8. 1934, 1940, 2018: 91
9. 1941, 1977: 90
10. 1943, 1987: 88
If you like either very hot, very wet or summers with a combination of both conditions, these ones were for you. It’s no surprise the 1930s and 1940s show up often. Every summer between 1930 and 1944 had hotter than normal conditions. No other similar period has matched it.
Top 10 Best Summers
1. 1904: 43
2. 1967, 1971: 44
3. 1922, 1960, 1984: 47
4. 2000: 49
5. 1962: 50
6. 1950, 1981: 51
7. 1884, 1886, 1985: 52
8. 1889, 2009: 53
9. 1929: 56
10. 1905, 1976: 57
If your preference is instead summers with little extreme heat and drier conditions, these were the best.
Now, you might wonder which decade had the best average and worst average summers.
Average Annual Points By Decade
1960s: 64.0
1900s: 66.2
1970s: 67.2
1920s: 67.8
1980s: 70.2
1880s: 70.9
1950s, 2000s: 71.2
1990s: 73.6
1890s: 75.1
1910s: 76.0
2010s: 78.7
1870s: 80.0
1930s: 81.9
1940s: 85.9
The 1960s had the best average score, with the 1940s easily claiming the top prize for worst. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 2010s featured more crappy ones than not.
To see a lot more summer and other weather records, check out:
Summer Season Records
Wilmington National Weather Service
While the West is better known for its many ghost towns, they exist in the Midwest as well. If you’re interested in learning about Ohio’s many long-lost small towns and villages, this is a great link. You can search through information for every county, read town histories, view photos and more. There are also links to old maps and indexes, as well as historic research resources.
Not all of the places still have remaining evidence, but enogh exist to easily justify a cool road trip around the state.
Ohio Ghost Town Exploration Co.
There have been a lot of updates and additions to the site in the last month.
The Historic Building Database pages now contain more than 1,200 buildings.
A new Local Sports History page has been added under the History tab. It contains information on Columbus’ college, minor and major league sports teams going back to the 19th Century.
The May Weather page has been updated with 2020 data, and records can be viewed back to 1879.
The numerous severe weather pages have all been updated to some degree over the past month or so with more links, events and even videos.
The Demographics and Population pages have been updated with 2019 population data, as well as various information related to income, GDP, housing and more!
Finally, a new Columbus Crime Statistics page has been added under the Demographics and Population tab. You can view total crimes, crime rates and maps going back to 1985.
With the economic collapse, pandemic and racial strife, Columbus’ minority-owned businesses need and deserve your support more than ever! Today’s link gives a list of Ohio Black-owned businesses.
40 businesses are listed here, but there are far more within the city, and even more in the suburbs and other Ohio cities. Follow the links within the site to check out businesses throughout the region.
Stay safe out there!