Cold Snap Forecast for Ohio: The Next Arctic Blast
In Columbus the coldest week is usually Jan 20 to 26, with a normal low of 21°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −9°F on Jan 31, 2026.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Columbus.
Normals and records at Port Columbus International Airport
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Ohio reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
ColumbusPort Columbus International Airport, USW00014821
Jan 20 to 26
21°F
−9°FJan 31, 2026
Oct 31
−22°FJan 19, 1994records since 1948
ClevelandCleveland, USW00014820
Jan 21 to 27
21°F
−10°FJan 30, 2026
Nov 6
−20°FJan 19, 1994records since 1938
ToledoToledo Express Airport, USW00094830
Jan 22 to 28
19°F
−10°FFeb 17, 2021
Oct 26
−20°FJan 21, 1984records since 1955
DaytonDayton International Airport, USW00093815
Jan 19 to 25
21°F
−13°FJan 2, 2018
Oct 29
−25°FTwice, last on Jan 19, 1994records since 1948
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Columbus against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 5 Ohio reference stations.
At Columbus it is usually Jan 20 to 26, with a normal low of 21°F. At the other reference stations: Cleveland Jan 21 to 27 (21°F), Toledo Jan 22 to 28 (19°F), Dayton Jan 19 to 25 (21°F) and Youngstown Jan 22 to 28 (18°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Columbus reaches 32°F around Nov 27. The first actual freeze came around Oct 31 in the median of the last 10 winters, weeks ahead of the normal, because one clear calm night can run far below the average.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Columbus was −9°F on Jan 31, 2026, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −1°F. Elsewhere: Cleveland −10°F on Jan 30, 2026, Toledo −10°F on Feb 17, 2021 and Dayton −13°F on Jan 2, 2018. The record at the Columbus station is −22°F, on Jan 19, 1994, in daily records since 1948.
At Columbus a typical recent winter brings 100 nights at 32°F or colder, 26 at 20°F or colder and 2 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Port Columbus International Airport (USW00014821), Cleveland (USW00014820), Toledo Express Airport (USW00094830), Dayton International Airport (USW00093815) and Youngstown Regional Airport (USW00014852). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
