Geography and Climate
Columbia is located at 34°0′2″N 81°2′39″W / 34.00056°N 81.04417°W / 34.00056; -81.04417. One of Columbia's most interesting geographical features is its fall line, which is a boundary between an upland region and a coastal plain across which rivers from the upland region drop to the plain as falls or rapids. Columbia grew up at the fall line of the Congaree River, which is formed by the convergence of the Broad River and the Saluda River. The Congaree was the farthest inland point of river navigation. The energy of falling water also powered Columbia's early mills. The city has capitalized on this location which includes three rivers by christening itself "The Columbia Riverbanks Region". Columbia is located roughly halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blue Ridge Mountains and sits at an elevation of around 292 ft (89 m).
Soils in Columbia are well drained in most cases, with grayish brown loamy sand topsoil. The subsoil may be yellowish red sandy clay loam (Orangeburg series), yellowish brown sandy clay loam (Norfolk series), or strong brown sandy clay (Marlboro series). All belong to the Ultisol soil order.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 127.7 square miles (331 km2), of which 125.2 square miles (324 km2) is land and 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2) is water (1.96%). Approximately 2/3 of Columbia's land area, 81.2 square miles (210 km2), is contained within the Fort Jackson Military Installation, much of which consists of uninhabited training grounds. The actual inhabited area for the city is slightly more than 50 square miles (130 km2).
Columbia has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with mild winters, warm springs and autumns, and very hot and humid summers. The area averages 56 nights below freezing, but extended cold is rare. The city's current promotional slogan describes Columbia as "Famously Hot". Precipitation, at 48.3 inches (1,230 mm) annually, peaks in the summer months, and is the least during spring and fall. Snowfall averages 2.1 inches (5.3 cm), but most years receive no snowfall, as the median seasonal amount is 0. The city, like other cities of the southeast, is prone to inversions, which trap ozone and other pollutants over the area.
The record low temperature is −2 °F (−19 °C), set on February 14, 1899. The record high temperature is 109 °F (43 °C), recorded on June 29, 2012.
| Climate data for Columbia, South Carolina (Columbia Airport), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 84 (29) |
84 (29) |
93 (34) |
96 (36) |
101 (38) |
109 (43) |
107 (42) |
107 (42) |
106 (41) |
101 (38) |
90 (32) |
83 (28) |
109 (43) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 56.0 (13.3) |
60.4 (15.8) |
68.2 (20.1) |
76.3 (24.6) |
83.8 (28.8) |
90.0 (32.2) |
92.7 (33.7) |
90.7 (32.6) |
85.2 (29.6) |
76.1 (24.5) |
67.3 (19.6) |
58.2 (14.6) |
75.41 (24.12) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 33.4 (0.8) |
36.6 (2.6) |
42.7 (5.9) |
50.1 (10.1) |
59.3 (15.2) |
67.9 (19.9) |
71.4 (21.9) |
70.7 (21.5) |
64.0 (17.8) |
51.9 (11.1) |
42.1 (5.6) |
35.1 (1.7) |
52.10 (11.17) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −1 (−18) |
−2 (−19) |
4 (−16) |
26 (−3) |
34 (1) |
44 (7) |
54 (12) |
53 (12) |
40 (4) |
23 (−5) |
12 (−11) |
4 (−16) |
−2 (−19) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 3.57 (90.7) |
3.61 (91.7) |
3.72 (94.5) |
2.62 (66.5) |
2.97 (75.4) |
4.69 (119.1) |
5.46 (138.7) |
5.26 (133.6) |
3.54 (89.9) |
3.16 (80.3) |
2.74 (69.6) |
3.22 (81.8) |
44.55 (1,131.6) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 0.9 (2.3) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.1 (0.3) |
1.6 (4.1) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.9 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 10.5 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 106.7 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 173.6 | 183.6 | 238.7 | 270.0 | 291.4 | 279.0 | 285.2 | 263.5 | 240.0 | 235.6 | 195.0 | 173.6 | 2,829.2 |
| Source #1: NOAA, HKO | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: The Weather Channel (extremes) | |||||||||||||
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