Tag Archives: Columbus Ohio weather history

Independence Day Climatology

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Independence Day climatology Columbus, Ohio

In honor of the 4th, here is the history of Independence Day climatology and extreme weather events.

Normals
High: 85
Low: 65
Mean: 75
Precipitation: 0.15″

# of July 4ths Where the Maximum was…
100 or Above: 3
90 or Above: 34
80 and Above: 104
79 and Below: 31
69 and Below: 2

# of July 4ths Where the Minimum was…
70 or Above: 26
60 or Above: 95
59 or Below: 40
49 or Below: 2

Top 5 Warmest Highs
1. 1911: 104
2. 1897: 102
3. 2012: 100
4. 1919: 97
5. 1900, 1921, 1949, 2002: 96

Top 5 Coldest Highs
1. 1882, 1922: 69
2. 1924, 1967, 1978, 2008: 71
3. 1909, 1927, 1972, 1979: 72
4. 1920: 73
5. 1937, 1989: 74

Top 5 Warmest Lows
1. 1911: 79
2. 1897, 1900, 1999: 75
3. 1879, 1921: 74
4. 1883, 1902, 2012: 73
5. 1899, 1919, 1991, 2004: 72

Top 5 Coldest Lows
1. 1968: 47
2. 1963: 49
3. 1996: 50
4. 1986: 51
5. 1927, 1940: 52

# of July 4ths where Precipitation was…
0: 65
Trace: 18
0.01-0.24: 32
0.25-0.49: 8
0.50-0.74: 8
0.75-0.99: 2
1.00 and Above: 2

Top 10 Wettest
1. 1984: 1.38″
2. 1935: 1.04″
3. 1915: 0.86″
4. 1932: 0.84″
5. 1957: 0.66″
6. 2008: 0.61″
7. 1939: 0.60″
8. 2003: 0.59″
9. 1926: 0.58″
10. 2006: 0.56″

Ohio’s most infamous July 4th weather event, occurred in 1969. Severe thunderstorms developed over southeastern Michigan and moved southeastward into the Ohio lakeshore communities around 7:30PM on July 4th. Every lakeshore community from Toledo to Cleveland was affected, as well as areas further inland. The storms continuously trained over the same areas from Lucas to Wayne counties for several hours, dropping torrential rains, tornadoes, high winds, hail and lightning. Rainfall in a 100-mile stretch from just southeast of Toledo into Wayne County totaled 6″-14″. These rains caused record local flooding. All told, the storms of July 4th-5th, 1969 caused $65 million in damage, damaged or destroyed 10,000 homes, 7,000 cars, 104 businesses, 300 mobile homes and more than 700 boats. 41 people were killed and 559 were injured, mostly from flooding. This was the 3rd most damaging flood in Ohio history, behind January 1959 and March 1913. Columbus was too far south to see any of the storms and received just 0.03″ of rain for the period.



The February 9-10, 2010 Snowstorm

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February 2010’s second snowstorm came just 3 days after the month’s first major event. This second low pressure system tracked from Louisville, Kentucky and then up along I-71 to Cleveland. Even though the track was through the heart of the state, the majority of the precipitation in most areas was snowfall. This storm followed so closely on the heels of the February 5th storm that the cold air that first storm had pulled into Ohio was still in place on the 9th. This allowed for snow despite the far north track. While the February 9-10, 2010 snowstorm wasn’t the largest of the month, it helped establish it as one of the snowiest winter months in history.

Snow began in Columbus in the early morning hours of the 9th and continued into the 10th. Snowfall rates reached their peak in the late morning hours of the 9th, falling at 1/2″ per hour at times, but never quite reached the intensities of Storm #1. While some parts of the state had 7-8″, the Columbus area had 5-6″, about half of what it got in Storm #1. Still, cleanup from the first storm was still ongoing, and this latest snowfall severely complicated the process. Traffic and airport delays were common, and many schools were cancelled. Snow depths in Franklin County reached 10-16″ after the storm.
the February 9-10, 2010 snowstorm Columbus, Ohio

Use the Weather History archive to further your search through local weather history, and the Wilmington National Weather Service for the current status of weather in the area.