Cool Air Settles Over the Valley Before Highs Climb Back Near 90
Why is it so cool and cloudy in Columbus today and when does it warm up?
A strong wedge of cool northeast air is holding Columbus near 80 degrees today, and after a sunny, crisp weekend highs climb back to about 90 by Tuesday.
Photo: POI / Pexels
Stand on the Chattahoochee RiverWalk in Columbus this morning and the sky over the river is one flat sheet of gray, with a cool breeze coming in from the northeast. That is not a rain-maker. It is what forecasters call a wedge: a shallow layer of cool, dense air that slides in from the northeast and slips underneath the warmer air above it. Because cool air is heavy, it hugs the ground, holds low clouds in place and keeps afternoons well below what the sunshine alone would deliver. The National Weather Service office at Peachtree City noted this morning that the wedge is unusually strong for late September.
You can see it in the numbers. The normal high for September 24 in Columbus is 86 degrees, and today should top out closer to 80. Yesterday's high at the Columbus Airport was 86 with a low of 70. For comparison, the record for this date is 96 degrees, set in 2016.
The clouds thin out from west to east tonight, so LaGrange and Hamilton clear before Manchester does. Friday brings sunshine, a morning near 58 degrees in Columbus and a high near 82. Behind that, very dry Canadian air rotates in, with less moisture in the whole column of atmosphere than in three-quarters of an inch of rain. That is in the bottom quarter of what late September usually offers here, and it is why rain chances stay near zero into the middle of next week. The Birmingham office is advertising the same cool, dry stretch for Auburn, Opelika and Tuskegee.
Then the air mass simply sits and warms. Saturday reaches 85 in Columbus, Sunday 87, and Tuesday should touch 90 again, 5 to 10 degrees above average. Mornings hold on to fall, though, staying in the 50s and low 60s from Eufaula to Phenix City. Any jacket you pull out for the bus stop Friday will be back in the closet by lunchtime.
Right now in Columbus, Georgia
67°Temperature
64°Dew point
90%Humidity
6 mphWind — northeast
30.15"Pressure
The next seven days
Day
High
Low
Rain
Conditions
TODAY
80°
61°
5%
Partly Sunny
FRI
82°
58°
0%
Sunny
SAT
85°
60°
0%
Sunny
SUN
87°
60°
2%
Mostly Sunny
MON
87°
62°
13%
Sunny
TUE
90°
65°
6%
Sunny
WED
91°
68°
20%
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 8:10 AM Eastern. Covering Columbus and Phenix City, Auburn–Opelika, LaGrange, Eufaula and the rest of the 19-county CNAW viewing area.
