Columbia, SC

South Carolina · Records since 1887–2026

🌤️ 94°F Feels like 100°
Currently in Columbia
As of 2:30 PM EDT
🔥 4° below today's record of 98°F

Records for September 11

🔥 Record High

98°F

September 11, 1915

+11° from 87° normal

❄ Record Low

46°F

September 11, 1956

-21° from 67° normal
🌞 Normal high: 87°F 🌑 Normal low: 67°F 1991–2020 normals

All-Time Records — Columbia

🔥
109°F
Hottest Day Ever
Jun 30, 2012
❄
-2°F
Coldest Day Ever
Feb 14, 1899
🌧
6.87"
Wettest Day Ever
Oct 4, 2015
☃
12.3"
Most Snow in One Day
Feb 10, 1973

First & Last Dates — Columbia

How early and how late each seasonal turning point has ever arrived, across the full period of record

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Range ever recorded Normal date (1991–2020)
322 days
Longest growing season
1918
185 days
Shortest growing season
1982
227 days
Normal growing season
1991–2020 average

Top 10 Record Highs — September 11

# Temp Date
🏆 98°F September 11, 1915
2 97°F September 11, 2007
3 97°F September 11, 1990
4 97°F September 11, 1983
5 96°F September 11, 2002
6 96°F September 11, 1962
7 96°F September 11, 1933
8 96°F September 11, 1925
9 96°F September 11, 1894
10 95°F September 11, 2019

Top 5 Record Lows — September 11

# Temp Date
🥶 46°F September 11, 1956
2 48°F September 11, 1976
3 51°F September 11, 1972
4 53°F September 11, 1969
5 54°F September 11, 1998
About this data — Records are sourced from the NOAA Threadex dataset via RCC ACIS, a quality-controlled record for long-term climate stations. Threadex adjusts for station relocations and observation-time changes, making records comparable across all years since 1887–2026. Climate normals represent the 1991–2020 average.

Heat Wave Summary — Columbia

threshold: 97°F (90th percentile of historical Jun–Aug highs)
4.5
Avg heat wave length
days (historical)
101°
Avg peak temp
during heat waves
94
Dangerous nights 2026
Overnights ≥ 70°F
5
Heat waves 2026
so far

Days ≥ 90°F Per Year

1887–2026
87
2026 so far
71
Avg/year 1970–2025
86
Avg/year (last 10 complete)
116
Most in a year (2010)

Average Daily High by Decade

Full year · complete decades only

Longest Heat Waves — Columbia

# Dates Days Peak Avg High Avg Overnight Low
🏆 Jul 3, 1993 – Jul 23, 1993 21 103°F (Jul 10) 100°F 74°F
2 Jul 7, 1986 – Jul 25, 1986 19 106°F (Jul 19) 101°F 74°F
3 Aug 8, 1900 – Aug 23, 1900 16 106°F (Aug 20) 101°F 74°F
4 Jul 2, 2016 – Jul 15, 2016 14 104°F (Jul 3) 101°F 75°F
5 Jun 14, 2015 – Jun 26, 2015 13 101°F (Jun 16) 99°F 75°F
6 Jun 21, 1998 – Jul 1, 1998 11 104°F (Jun 27) 100°F 74°F
7 Jul 30, 1980 – Aug 9, 1980 11 102°F (Aug 1) 99°F 70°F
8 Jul 22, 2016 – Aug 1, 2016 11 102°F (Jul 26) 100°F 76°F
9 Jul 4, 1990 – Jul 12, 1990 9 105°F (Jul 10) 101°F 73°F
10 Jun 30, 1954 – Jul 8, 1954 9 104°F (Jul 7) 101°F 72°F

Heat Waves Per Year

Warm Summer Nights (Jun–Aug)

Nights where the overnight low exceeded the 1991–2020 normal low

76
2026 total
above-normal nights
42.8
Avg / summer
1970–2020
82
Most in a summer
2010

Above-Normal Summer Nights Per Year

Average June–August Low by Decade

Overnight lows · complete decades only

Precipitation

Annual totals and trend across the full period of record · see this year's standing →

Monthly Precipitation — Last 24 Months

Blue = actual · dashed line = monthly normal

Annual Precipitation Per Year (1887–2026)

Blue = above average · tan = below average · gold = 2026 (partial)
Since 1887, annual totals have trended +0.42" per decade, about +5.7" across the record.

Heavy Rain Days Per Year (≥ 1.0")

Compare year-to-year changes in days with heavy rainfall (≥ 1.0")

This Year — 2026

How Columbia is tracking against normal, year to date

Daily High Temperature vs Normal

Above normal Below normal

151 of 253 days with data were above the 1991–2020 normal high for their date.

Precipitation, Year to Date

21.01"
2026 YTD
Normal: 32.98"
-11.97"
0.61"
September so far
September normal: 3.91"
-3.30"
3
2026 heavy rain days
Days with ≥ 1.0"

Accumulation vs. Normal

Running total since Jan 1 against the normal pace for the same date · Columbia is 11.97" behind the normal pace

Period Review — Mar 1 – May 31, 2026

Any window, evaluated against every other year on record — 92 days

Quick picks: Last 7 days Last 30 days Last 90 days This month
Seasons: Spring (Mar–May) Summer (Jun–Aug) Fall (Sep–Nov)
67.5°F
Average temperature
2nd-warmest of 139
+3.0°
vs. average
Normal: 64.4°F (1991–2020)
7.02"
Precipitation
30th-driest of 139
-2.86"
vs. average
Normal: 9.88" · 71% of normal

Average Temperature by Year — Mar 1 – May 31

1888–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.10° per decade (warming since 1888)

Precipitation by Year — Mar 1 – May 31

1888–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.13" per decade (wetter since 1888)

Warmest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 2012 69.3°F
2 2026 67.5°F
3 1974 67.2°F
4 1945 67.1°F
5 2016 67.0°F
6 1908 66.9°F
7 1991 66.9°F
8 2017 66.8°F
9 2024 66.5°F
10 2025 66.4°F

Coolest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 1931 59.8°F
2 1960 59.9°F
3 1891 60.0°F
4 1980 60.0°F
5 1971 60.4°F
6 1983 60.5°F
7 1993 60.5°F
8 1901 60.8°F
9 1926 61.0°F
10 1984 61.1°F

Wettest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Total
1 2003 19.56"
2 1973 19.40"
3 1991 19.22"
4 1975 17.88"
5 1980 17.25"
6 1901 17.06"
7 1979 16.85"
8 1971 16.55"
9 2020 16.47"
10 1936 16.18"

Driest Mar 1 – May 31 on Record

# Year Total
1 2006 3.29"
2 1916 3.67"
3 1911 3.69"
4 1910 3.74"
5 1995 4.37"
6 1914 4.51"
7 1986 4.69"
8 1904 4.86"
9 1889 4.90"
10 1985 4.98"
About this data. Pick any start and end date and this becomes the same kind of review as the Month and Fall tabs, just for exactly the window you asked for — the generalized version of the same engine, evaluated across every year on record. Average temperature is the mean of each day's (high + low) / 2; precipitation is the sum of daily totals. A year missing more than about a fifth of the window's days is excluded from the temperature ranking; any missing day excludes a year from the precipitation ranking, since an unreported day is unreported rain. Ranges that cross from December into January aren't supported yet. Normals are the 1991–2020 mean for the same window.
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