From the files of Project Blue Book. The 1961 Ohio Stadium UFO incident occurred during an Ohio State home football game and could be viewed from the stadium itself. The object obviously had multiple witnesses, whose accounts are in the pages below. The object was thought to be a balloon, but was never positively identified.
For more incidents around the world, visit the following links.
UFO Database
Mutual UFO Network
National UFO Reporting Center
On occasion, city leaders and developers say some absurd, ridiculous and hilariously tone-deaf comments regarding development and other urban issues in and around Columbus. And sometimes, as is the case with this example, those comments will highlight the often underwhelming results compared to the rhetoric.
15 years ago, the southeast corner of West Henderson and Reed Road was filled with a family-owned Italian restaurant called Da Vinci’s Ristorante. The restaurant had sat at the location since the mid-1970s and had become something of a local institution for the area.
For reasons that have been lost if ever reported, Da Vinci’s was closed and torn down in the spring of 2006. The family, it seems were either tired of the restaurant business, or had decided that a prominent location such as theirs could be a better money-making operation if it was redeveloped. Hence, Arlington Pointe, the current development on the site, came into being.
In a Dispatch article from that time, the developer- Ruscilli Real Estate Services- talked about the development in somewhat glowing terms.
“We wanted something that had more of a streetscape appeal,” said Ruscilli Real Estate President Tim Kelton. “There’s a lot of parking in the back and a hallway in the center. We wanted the shops and restaurants and everything very close to Henderson Road to fit into the neighborhood better.”
And what exactly did this development with lots of “streetscape appeal” look like? Yeah, it was just a standard strip center, the same kind that has been built 100,000x over across Ohio and the country, and now dominate the suburbs.
Do the shops look close to Henderson? They are set well back from Henderson, actually, and a large parking lot wraps the entire way around the building. In fact, there is more parking fronting Reed and Henderson than there is in the lot behind the building, as can be seen from the aerial.
Like so many of these suburban strip centers, getting to the shops and office space by any means other than a car was completely ignored. In fact, the development caters to cars so thoroughly that it actually has its own mini-off ramp from Henderson.
Now, there are sidewalks around, but the chances that anyone actually uses them in what must be an unpleasant, loud and dangerous walk seem slim.
Ruscilli did get one thing correct, though- the project did fit in with the area given that the vast majority of neighboring development is much the same.
You can peruse the Proposed Development for upcoming projects.
The city and area may have its first accumulating snow this evening into Sunday, according to the Wilmington National Weather Service. Some may think that it’s a bit early for this to be happening, but in fact, there have been many years with far earlier first snowfalls. So what exactly were the earliest first snows in Columbus?
The earliest recorded measurable snowfall in Columbus occurred on October 10, 1906. A strong cold front brought rain on the 9th that changed to snow showers during the early morning hours of the 10th. The snow only amounted to 0.1″, but it was enough to be counted as officially the earliest measurable snowfall on record.
Here are earliest days with snowfall of any amount.
1. 10/4/2014: Trace
2. 10/9/1979: Trace
3. 10/10/1906: 0.1″
4. 10/11/1906: Trace
5. 10/12/1907, 10/12/1909, 10/12/1917, 10/12/1921, 10/12/1988, 10/12/1991, 10/12/2006: Trace
6. 10/13/2006: Trace
7. 10/14/1937: Trace
8. 10/16/1943, 10/16/1978, 10/16/2004: Trace
9. 10/18/1966, 10/18/1972, 10/18/1992: Trace
10. 10/19/1917, 10/19/1925, 10/19/1972, 10/19/1974, 10/19/1989: Trace
10. 10/19/1880: 1.0″
10. 10/19/1989: 0.4″
11. 10/20/1889, 10/20/1974, 10/20/1989, 10/20/1992: Trace
12. 10/21/1913, 10/21/1976, 10/21/1987, 10/21/1989: Trace
13. 10/22/1904, 10/22/1913, 10/22/1917: Trace
13. 10/22/1925: 1.0″
14. 10/23/1962, 10/23/2006, 10/23/2013: Trace
14. 10/23/1917: 0.6″
15. 10/24/1929, 10/24/1937, 10/24/1955, 10/24/1962, 10/24/2006, 10/24/2013: Trace
16. 10/25/1892, 10/25/1926, 10/25/1967, 10/25/1980: Trace
16. 10/25/1962: 1.3″
17. 10/26/1926, 10/26/1942, 10/26/1957, 10/26/1962, 10/26/1980, 10/26/2001: Trace
18. 10/27/1886, 10/27/1898, 10/27/1957, 10/27/1976, 10/27/2008: Trace
19. 10/28/1939, 10/28/1952, 10/28/1967, 10/28/2008, 10/28/2017: Trace
19. 10/28/1906: 0.1″
19. 10/28/1910, 10/28/1925: 0.5″
20. 10/29/1890, 10/29/1893, 10/29/1925, 10/29/2002, 10/29/2012: Trace
So the first traces of snow have occurred nearly a full month and a half prior to today’s date. In 2014, the first trace of snow occurred just a few weeks after the end of summer!
And here are the earliest measurable snowfalls only.
1. 10/10/1906: 0.1″
2. 10/19/1880: 1.0″
2. 10/19/1989: 0.4″
3. 10/22/1925: 1.0″
4. 10/23/1917: 0.6″
5. 10/25/1962: 1.3″
6. 10/28/1906: 0.1″
6. 10/28/1910, 10/28/1925: 0.5″
7. 10/30/1925: 1.5″
7. 10/30/1993: 3.6″
7. 10/30/2012: 0.6″
8. 10/31/1954: 0.2″
8. 10/31/1993: 1.0″
9. 11/1/1951, 11/1/1954: 0.2″
10. 11/2/1951: 1.3″
10. 11/2/1954: 0.2″
10. 11/2/1966: 4.7″
10. 11/2/1999: 1.1″
11. 11/3/1954: 0.1″
11. 11/3/1966: 1.0″
11. 11/3/1999: 0.4″
12. 11/4/1926: 1.4″
12. 11/4/1936: 3.5″
12. 11/4/1954: 0.4″
12. 11/4/1997: 0.5″
13. 11/5/1897, 11/5/1967: 0.1″
13. 11/5/1966: 0.3″
13. 11/5/1992: 1.2″
14. 11/6/1886: 1.2″
14. 11/6/1951, 11/6/1967: 0.2″
14. 11/6/1971: 1.8″
14. 11/6/1988: 0.8″
14. 11/6/1993: 0.1″
15. 11/7/1894: 3.0″
15. 11/7/1953: 0.4″
15. 11/7/1967: 0.9″
15. 11/7/1991: 0.2″
16. 11/8/1900: 0.5″
16. 11/8/1927, 11/8/1933: 0.1″
17. 11/9/1892: 2.1″
17. 11/9/1913: 5.0″
17. 11/9/1941, 11/9/1968: 0.3″
17. 11/9/1971: 0.7″
17. 11/9/1996: 0.2″
18. 11/10/1892: 1.5″
18. 11/10/1894: 0.3″
18. 11/10/1913: 2.5″
18. 11/10/1921: 0.5″
19. 11/11/1894, 11/11/1983: 0.5″
19. 11/11/1921, 11/11/2013: 0.3″
19. 11/11/1986: 0.4″
19. 11/11/1995: 0.1″
19. 11/11/2019: 2.1″
20. 11/12/1886: 2.2″
20. 11/12/1911: 0.2″
20. 11/12/1921: 0.5″
20. 11/12/1968: 0.4″
20. 11/12/1991: 0.3″
20. 11/12/2013: 0.9″
20. 11/12/2019: 0.7″
The average first snow in Columbus is typically between the 2nd and 3rd week of November, so really, this year’s first snow is arriving more or less right on schedule. Accumulations are predicted to be 1″ or less. Historic climatology records are available for all periods.
The Summer 2021 review shows a rather warm and wet season, but extremes were rare. Record heat did not occur, and severe weather- a typical event during the summer- was all but missing for the region.
The rankings are accurate through the time of posting, and that data largely comes from the Wilmington National Weather Service. Other comparative data is at the Summer Season Records page.
1991-2020 Summer Normals
Average High: 83.9
Average Low: 63.6
Mean: 73.8
Precipitation: 12.74″
June-August
Average High: 84.9 Tied for 23rd Warmest
Average Low: 65.8 Tied for 6th Warmest
Mean: 74.4 12th Warmest
Precipitation: 14.38″ 24th Wettest
# of 70 or Below Highs: 1 Tied for 2nd Fewest
# of 50 or Below Lows: 1 Tied for 2nd Fewest
# of 90 or Above Highs: 19 Tied for 21st Most
# of 100 or Above Highs: 0 Tied for 1st Fewest
# of 70 or Above Lows: 29 Tied for 4th Most
# of Measurable Precipitation Days: 39 Tied for 7th Most
Average High By Month
June 2021: 84.3 17th Warmest
July 2021: 84.4 Tied for 33rd Coldest
August 2021: 86.1 Tied for 18th Warmest
Average Low By Month
June 2021: 64.1 Tied for 10th Warmest
July 2021: 66.1 Tied for 26th Warmest
August 2021: 67.3 Tied for 7th Warmest
Mean By Month
June 2021: 74.2 Tied for 12th Warmest
July 2021: 75.2 Tied for 35th Warmest
August 2021: 76.7 10th Warmest
Precipitation By Month
June 2021: 2.58″ 35th Driest
July 2021: 4.64″ Tied for 50th Wettest
August 2021: 7.16″ Tied for 5th Wettest
Summer 2021 got both progressively warmer and wetter as it went.
Maximum High By Month
June 2021: 96 on June 29th
July 2021: 92 on July 5th, 6th and 7th
August 2021: 92 on August 12th and 24th
Minimum High By Month
June 2021: 68 on June 2nd
July 2021: 75 on July 10th
August 2021: 77 on August 15th
Maximum Low By Month
June 2021: 73 on June 20th, 26th and 27th
July 2021: 72 on July 12th, 13th and 25th
August 2021: 72 on August 11th, 12th and 29th
Maximum Low Records
-The 73 on June 20th tied the record for the date, last set in 1931.
-The 73 on June 26th tied the record for the date, last set in 1998.
Minimum Low By Month
June 2021: 50 on June 23rd
July 2021: 56 on July 3rd
August 2021: 58 on August 2nd
Highest Daily Precipitation By Month
June 2021: 0.60″ on June 7th
July 2021: 1.26″ on July 1st
August 2021: 1.55″ on August 16th
Precipitation Records
-The 1.55″ on August 16th set a new record for the date, breaking the 1.26″ set in 1934.
Measurable Precipitation Days By Month
June 2021: 12
July 2021: 10
August 2021: 17
Severe weather was unusually limited over the summer. Columbus had only 3 severe thunderstorm warnings over the entire 3 month period- on July 29th, August 11th and August 12th. July 29th brought quarter-sized hail and strong winds to the Downtown area, while the August dates brought strong winds up to 60MPH.
From the files of Project Blue Book, the October 2, 1951 UFO case doesn’t have much information and was never explained.
For more incidents around the world, visit the following links.
UFO Database
Mutual UFO Network
National UFO Reporting Center