Geography of Columbus, Ohio

The region is dominated by a humid continental climate, characterized by hot, muggy summers and cold, dry winters.

Some of Columbus' largest suburbs are Westerville, Gahanna, Reynoldsburg, Grove City, Upper Arlington, Hilliard and Dublin.

Since the 1950s the city has made annexation a condition for providing water and sewer service, to which it holds regional rights throughout a large portion of central Ohio.

It has a driving distance of less than four hours from Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Toledo.

The annual precipitation of 39.3 inches (998 mm) peaks, but not strongly so, in the latter half of spring and then summer; July is the wettest month while February is the driest.

Passing cold fronts in winter frequently produce snow that is occasionally heavy, with a seasonal average of 28.1 inches (71.4 cm).

On average, the first date of measurable, i.e. totalling 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) or more, snowfall is November 21 and the last March 31, with falls in October quite rare.

Centered around the Nationwide Arena, the district has many pubs, restaurants, and residential projects, most notably the new 20-story Condominiums at North Bank Park tower.

The Lifestyle Communities Pavilion is also an anchor for the district and the recently completed Huntington Ballpark has become the new home of the Columbus Clippers minor league baseball team.

The stretch of High Street that runs through the campus area caters to the student body with its abundance of bars, sandwich shops, music stores, and bookstores.

Located between OSU and Worthington is Clintonville, where a mix of middle class homes can be found alongside beautiful old stone and brick-faced houses nestled among rolling hills.

The two Interstates combine downtown for about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in an area locally known as "The Split", which is a major traffic congestion point within Columbus, especially during rush hour.

Due to its central location within Ohio and abundance of outbound roadways, nearly all of the state's destinations are within a 2-hour drive of Columbus.

John Glenn International provides service to a few foreign and dozens of domestic destinations, including all the major hubs except Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Rickenbacker International Airport, in southern Franklin County, is a major cargo facility and is important to the Ohio Air National Guard.

Plans to open a high-speed rail service connecting Columbus with Cincinnati and Cleveland were eliminated after Governor John Kasich was elected into office.

[15] Columbus maintains a widespread municipal bus service called the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA).

Bicycling as transportation is steadily increasing in Columbus with its relatively flat terrain, intact urban neighborhoods, large student population, and off-road bike paths.