As Columbus and much of the rest of the country prepare for what could be a large snowstorm starting Jan. 24, let’s look back at some of the records for snowiest months in central Ohio history.
January has the highest average snowfall of all of the months, according to historic climate data from the National Weather Service going back to 1884. An average of 7.8 inches of snow has fallen in January, outpacing the 6.1-inch average for February and 4.7 in December.
January 1978 also holds the record for the snowiest ever month in Columbus history, when 34.4 inches fell.
So far this January, snowfall has been mild. But this weekend could bring the first big storm of 2026. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch from 7 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, to 1 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26. The agency said 4-8 inches of accumulated snow are possible in central Ohio, and travel could be very difficult. The watch covers all of central, southern and eastern Ohio.
The snowiest winter was in 2013-14, when over 56 inches of snow fell in Columbus. On the other hand, the least snowy season was the winter of 1941-42, with just around 4.9 inches of snowfall.
Snow can extend into April, but seldom into May. Storms dumped nearly 17 inches of snow on Columbus in April 1886, but April snow totals haven’t reached double digits at any point except for over a century later in April 1987 when 12.6 inches of snow were recorded.
Most recently in 2022, a trace amount of snow was recorded in May, but Columbus has never seen more than an inch of snow in May. There was 0.8 inches of snow recorded in May 1989.
While other parts of the country can see snowfall very often during the winter months, Columbus usually sees an average of 26 days each season with measurable snowfall over 0.1 inches. January has an average of seven snow days, and February has an average of six days.
December 2000 had the most days in a single month with some snowfall. Meteorologists recorded at least 0.1 inches of snowfall on 19 of the days that month. December 2015 had zero days with recorded snowfall.
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the northwestern suburbs for the Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What are the snowiest months in Columbus history?
Reporting by Anna Lynn Winfrey, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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