Columbus Tops Out at 73: Sunshine and Mid 80s Return This Weekend
Why was it so cool and cloudy in Columbus GA today?
A shallow wedge of cool, cloudy air pushed in on an east wind held Columbus to a high of 73 degrees reached at 12:31 AM, about 12 degrees below normal, with sunshine and mid 80s returning by the weekend.
Photo: Dimka Nevedimka / Pexels
The warmest moment of Thursday in Columbus happened at 12:31 in the morning. The official thermometer at the Columbus Airport touched 73 degrees just after midnight and never got back to it, finishing the day about 12 degrees below the normal high of 86 for September 24.
The reason was a shallow pool of cool air pinned against the eastern side of the mountains and pushed down into Georgia and Alabama on a steady east wind. Forecasters call that setup a wedge. The air inside it is dense and damp, it is only a few thousand feet deep, and the low clouds that ride along with it are very good at keeping the sun from ever reaching the ground. The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City said outright that the cloud cover was running temperatures lower than its own forecast, and had to lower the numbers to match.
That arrangement comes apart Friday. The wind turns to the northwest, the wedge retreats, and the sky clears from Hamilton and LaGrange down through Columbus and Phenix City. Look for 82 in Columbus Friday afternoon, then 86 both Saturday and Sunday with mornings near 59. Forecasters in Birmingham are advertising the same cool, dry air for Auburn, Opelika and Tuskegee, with lower-to-middle 80s by day and 50s and 60s at night.
It has not been that kind of year. Columbus has logged 96 days at 90 degrees or better in 2026, 37 of them at 95 or above, topping out at an even 100 on August 17. Thursday's 73 was cool, though not the coolest September 24 on the books here: that is a high of 67 back in 1995.
Rain stays out of the picture into the middle of next week, while afternoons climb to 89 Monday and 92 by Wednesday. If you want the pleasant part, take it early: a walk on the RiverWalk at sunrise this weekend starts in the upper 50s, the first mornings of the year that ask for sleeves.
Right now in Columbus, Georgia
71°Temperature
65°Dew point
81%Humidity
5 mphWind — northeast
30.10"Pressure
The next seven days
Day
High
Low
Rain
Conditions
TONIGHT
—
61°
0%
Partly Cloudy
FRI
82°
59°
0%
Sunny
SAT
86°
59°
0%
Sunny
SUN
86°
59°
0%
Mostly Sunny
MON
89°
61°
1%
Sunny
TUE
91°
65°
1%
Sunny
WED
92°
68°
17%
Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Written by the CNAW 2 weather desk from CNAW 2 weather desk data. Last updated September 24, 2026 at 7:24 PM Eastern. Covering Columbus and Phenix City, Auburn–Opelika, LaGrange, Eufaula and the rest of the 19-county CNAW viewing area.
