The city of Columbus is located in central Ohio at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. The region is dominated by a humid continental climate, characterized by hot, muggy summers and cold, dry winters.

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a land area of 220.04 square miles (569.9 km²).^[1] Unlike many other major US cities in the Midwest, Columbus continues to expand its reach by way of extensions and annexations, making it one of the fastest growing large cities in the nation, in terms of both geography and population, and probably the fastest in the Midwest.^{[citation needed]} While Columbus' suburban population is not as large as Ohio's other two large metro areas, (Cleveland and Cincinnati), due to its annexation policies, it is almost entirely ringed by suburbs, and it even has some land-locked suburbs which are completely surrounded by Columbus' city limits. Some of Columbus' largest suburbs are Westerville, Gahanna, Reynoldsburg, Grove City, Upper Arlington, Hilliard and Dublin. Since the 1950s the city has made annexation a condition for providing water and sewer service, to which it holds regional rights throughout a large portion of central Ohio. This policy is credited with preserving Columbus' tax base in the face of the U.S.'s suburbanization and has contributed to its continued economic expansion, much like other cities pursuing similar policies such as San Antonio, Texas.

The confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers occurs just west of downtown Columbus. Several smaller tributaries course through the Columbus metro area, including Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek, and Darby Creek. Columbus is considered to have relatively flat topography thanks to a large glacier that covered most of Ohio during the Wisconsin Ice Age. However, there are sizable differences in elevation through the area, with the high point of Franklin County being 1132 ft (345 m) above sea level near New Albany, and the low point being 670 ft (207 m) where the Scioto River leaves the county near Lockbourne.^[2] Numerous ravine areas near the rivers and creeks also help give some variety to the landscape. Tributaries to Alum Creek and the Olentangy River cut through shale, while tributaries to the Scioto River cut through limestone. Deciduous trees are common, including maple, oak, hickory, walnut, poplar, cottonwood, and of course, buckeye.

Columbus is geographically very close to many major cities. It has a driving distance of less than four hours from Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Toledo. Likewise, Chicago, Milwaukee, Nashville, New York City, Washington, DC, St Louis, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Philadelphia are all within a day's drive of the city.

Climate

The city has, depending on definition, a humid continental or humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa or Cfa) characterized by hot, muggy summers and cold, comparatively dry winters, and lies in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6.^[3] January averages 29.6 °F (−1.3 °C), while July averages 75.2 °F (24.0 °C). Spring and autumn are mild and wet, but the latter is usually drier. The annual mean is 53.4 °F (11.9 °C). On average, temperatures reach 90 °F (32 °C) on 18 days of the year and 0 °F (−18 °C) on 2.9 nights, while the first freeze occurs on October 23 and the last on April 19.

The annual precipitation of 39.3 inches (998 mm) peaks, but not strongly so, in the latter half of spring and then summer; July is the wettest month while February is the driest. Passing cold fronts in winter frequently produce snow that is occasionally heavy, with a seasonal average of 28.1 inches (71.4 cm). On average, the first date of measurable, i.e. totalling 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) or more, snowfall is November 21 and the last March 31, with falls in October quite rare.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Columbus was 106 °F (41 °C), which occurred twice during the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s — once on July 21, 1934, and again two years later, on July 14, 1936.^[4] The coldest temperature ever recorded was −22 °F (−30 °C), occurring on January 19, 1994.^[4] The highest daily minimum temperature was 82 °F (28 °C) on January 10, 1881, and conversely, the lowest daily maximum was −7 °F (−22 °C) on February 9, 1899.

Columbus is subject to severe weather typical to the Midwestern United States. Severe thunderstorms producing tornadoes are possible from the spring to the fall, the most recent of which occurred on October 11, 2006 and caused F2 damage.^[5] Floods and blizzards can also occur from time to time.