Cincy Weather (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati: house, to buy, living in)

[fiskkm]

My wife and I will be moving to Cincinnati, so I have conducted hours of internet research about this city on this site and others. However, one thing I would like to know more about is the local's perspective on the weather. I have lived in Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Phoenix, and Washington DC. Can anyone comment on how Cincy compares to those areas? I am not looking for a straight degree/snowfall/rain comparison since I already have that, but in the feel of the weather. For instance, how is the humidity compared to DC. How are the winters compared to Cleveland? What are the best and worst times of the year? What are the positives/negatives about Cincy weather? Any help is appreciated.

[Matthew Hall]

Cincinnati is a somewhat milder and calmer than columbus. Its surprisingly milder than cleveland considering the relatively short distance between them with much less snow. Its a little more variable than D.C. Its can be as humid as d.c. but not as consistently. When I travelled between columbus and cincy for work, I was often struck by how the weather changed as I moved into the hills of southern ohio. Snow in columbus was often rain in cincy. Spring time flowers and green grass in cincinnati faded to brown as I drove toward columbus. Spring and Fall are drawn out and the best time, IMO. Having visited Denver and Phoenix, they are both a parallel universe with no relevance to cincinnati weather.

[abr7rmj]

Having lived in both the Cincy and the Denver area, I can tell you that there are almost zero similarities between the two cities in terms of weather. Well, they both enjoy the four seasons, but that's about it. Cincinnati, like other eastern cities, has the humidity in both summer and winter that Denver just doesn't have. Cincinnati winters are milder than Columbus winters and considerably more mild (with far less snow) than Cleveland winters. Cincy is similar to DC in that it does have hot, humid summers, but I agree with Matthew Hall - it's not quite as consistently hot and humid. This summer, while July was hot and humid in Cincinnati, August has been perfect.

[kjbrill]

Cleveland, at least the east side, has much more snow in the winter, caused by the lake.
Columbus, being on flat land, may have more of a winter feel since the winds have nothing to stop them and drifting snow may be more of a problem. And summers are probably a bit drier.

Cincinnati weather is affected greatly by the influence of the river. Look at the weather in St. Louis as you are seeing what Cincinnati will be shortly. The weather just seems to channel along the Ohio river valley. Summer high humidity is definitely expected, but conditions vary year to year. This spring was an extraordinary wet one, with rain well over the seasonal averages.

July was hot and humid, just plain miserable. We actually gave up playing golf deciding the punishment was not worth it. The last half of August has been totally enjoyable, weather like we normally expect in early October. To turn off the air conditioner in August is certainly not Cincinnati weather.

I remember and old saying when I was growing up. If you do not like the weather in Cincinnati wait 15 minutes and it will change.

Typical winter weather - overcast and gray. Even if the temperatures are not severe you feel depressed due to the lack of sun.

Typical summer weather - humid. If the temperatures reach mid 90s you feel miserable due to the fact a short time outdoors you will have to change all of your sweat saturated clothes.

I have lived here over 70 years and do not know why I still stay. I guess it is due to the fact our good weather days are glorious. The fall and spring can be totally exhilarating times. Winters are much less severe than Chicago or Cleveland, but snow on the hills along the river is no picnic. It is good the snow does not last long.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by fiskkm

My wife and I will be moving to Cincinnati, so I have conducted hours of internet research about this city on this site and others. However, one thing I would like to know more about is the local's perspective on the weather. I have lived in Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Phoenix, and Washington DC. Can anyone comment on how Cincy compares to those areas? I am not looking for a straight degree/snowfall/rain comparison since I already have that, but in the feel of the weather. For instance, how is the humidity compared to DC. How are the winters compared to Cleveland? What are the best and worst times of the year? What are the positives/negatives about Cincy weather? Any help is appreciated.

Cincinnati, in general, gets a lot less snow than Cleveland does, especially the snow belt. However, since Cincinnati is MUCH hillier than Cleveland, be prepared for some more difficult drives than in Cleveland. Cincinnati is more humid than Cleveland and warmer as Cleveland in on the lake. However, it is not as unpleasant as Washington DC or St. Louis.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Cincinnati, in general, gets a lot less snow than Cleveland does, especially the snow belt. However, since Cincinnati is MUCH hillier than Cleveland, be prepared for some more difficult drives than in Cleveland. Cincinnati is more humid than Cleveland and warmer as Cleveland in on the lake. However, it is not as unpleasant as Washington DC or St. Louis.

I know this is repetitive to people who read the group regularly, but it's pretty instructive to people who ask the question for the first time.

My husband, an adept driver on heavy snow who grew up in the flatlands of the northern Indiana snow belt, was in no way prepared for his first snowfall in Cincinnati when rush hour traffic slowed to near gridlock. "Yeah, it's the hills, stupid." Or the stupid hills. Or something.

I'll also repeat that I think one of the things the dysfunctional City of Cincinnati government does best is salting and clearing the streets. But with other local governments in the area it can be hit or miss.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

My husband, an adept driver on heavy snow who grew up in the flatlands of the northern Indiana snow belt, was in no way prepared for his first snowfall in Cincinnati when rush hour traffic slowed to near gridlock. "Yeah, it's the hills, stupid." Or the stupid hills. Or something.

I had a 25 mile commute in Cleveland out to Elyria. When it snowed, I stayed OFF the freeway choosing to take a slower route with a 40 mph speed limit, no hills, and few ditches. It would take an extra 20 minutes but was well worth it.

In Cincinnati, you have hills AND people who have no clue as to how to drive so they can get over the hills. Also, many are too cheap to buy the correct tires to navigate the vehicle through the store.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

I had a 25 mile commute in Cleveland out to Elyria. When it snowed, I stayed OFF the freeway choosing to take a slower route with a 40 mph speed limit, no hills, and few ditches. It would take an extra 20 minutes but was well worth it.

In Cincinnati, you have hills AND people who have no clue as to how to drive so they can get over the hills. Also, many are too cheap to buy the correct tires to navigate the vehicle through the store.

Please advise the rest of us as to what the correct tires are. Years ago I used to buy studded snow tires until they were outlawed for tearing up the roads. When most cars went to front wheel drive they advised a good premium all weather tire. I recently purchased my first front wheel drive vehicle (used) in the last 20 years. I am retiring one of my rear wheel drive cars. My best answer is stay indoors until the streets have been cleaned and the snow is melting. In Cincinnati this is usually not a long time.

In the last 20 years of my working career I had less than a 1.5 mile commute from the house to the factory/office. Even then I would call up and say I will be there when I arrive. There is a benefit to having vacation days more than double what you ever actually take off.

Then there are those who will suggest living in the suburbs is sacrocanct. Well whoopee-doo.

[Tubby513]

Our weather here is awesome...very defined, different seasons. As others have stated, it can be very hot and humid here during summer (this past July), it can be very cold and snowy during the winter (had a record February snowfall amount back in 2010 I think), and fall and spring are just excellent. Sorry, no city weather comparison here, but just wanted to chime in. Our weather can be a lot of fun when you look at it from a full year perspective. At least I think so.

[insightofitall]

Originally Posted by Tubby513

Our weather here is awesome...very defined, different seasons. As others have stated, it can be very hot and humid here during summer (this past July), it can be very cold and snowy during the winter (had a record February snowfall amount back in 2010 I think), and fall and spring are just excellent. Sorry, no city weather comparison here, but just wanted to chime in. Our weather can be a lot of fun when you look at it from a full year perspective. At least I think so.

Except that Fall and Spring aren't nearly long enough. More often than not, we slide from Winter straight into Summer, and from Summer into Winter, with very few weeks in between in which the weather is actually consistently nice and cool in the 50s, 60s, and low 70s...which is what Spring and Fall are supposed to be. Those cooler days simply don't last long enough before we're back into the other extreme. In Spring, we have maybe a week of temps in the 60s, then a couple of weeks in the 70s, and then *BAM* it jumps straight up into the mid-80s or warmer and stays there. Same thing in reverse when it comes to Fall sliding into Winter.