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Columbia, Maryland

Community in Howard County, Maryland

Air quality

The air at Columbia

Index 14, good, led by ozone. Read at 11 PM from its reporting area, Suburban DC (MD), 14 miles off.

14Good
  • Fine particles (PM2.5)0Good15.3 mi
  • Ozone14Good7 ppb10.8 mi
  • Nitrogen dioxide3Good3.9 ppb10.8 mi
  • Sulfur dioxide0Good0 ppb10.8 mi
  • Carbon monoxide-0.2 ppm4.6 mi

The days ahead

Good each day through Sun Oct 18, led by fine particles. Yesterday measured 48, good.

Smoke, the next 45 hours

Little smoke near the ground through Sat 8 PM: the index from smoke stays at 6 or under.

FriSat

Precipitation

What has fallen at Columbia

0.12 in in the last 24 hours, and none in the 2 days before, to Thu 11 PM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.

Last 24 hours
0.12in
Last 3 days
0.12in

Visibility

How far you can see at Columbia, the next 45 hours

Mist or haze: visibility falls to 2 miles Fri 7 AM.

FriSat

On the radar over Columbia, MarylandReflectivityStorm topsRain rateRain, last 24 hoursForecast temperatureForecast rain totalEvery picture

What is measuring near here

The 7 instruments nearest Columbia, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 1.4 miles away.

measured now5 instruments

Powder MillS2049

At a soil climate station/13.1 mi away/105 ft/245 ft below here

temp, humidity, soil temp, soil moisture

Rank734of 736

measured daily2 instruments

Columbia 1.9 NMD-HW-36

In a volunteer observer's own ground/1.8 mi away/367 ft/17 ft above here

precip, snowfall, snow depth

Rank83of 736

Ferndale - BWI SnowBSPM2

At a cooperative observer's station/10.9 mi away/118 ft/232 ft below here

snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low

Rank-

Station report

The weather at Baltimore - Wash Intl, drawn

The nearest airport reporting now, 9.3 mi from Columbia, Maryland. From its report of Oct 15, 2026, 11:54 PM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.

The sky

A few clouds at 1,800 ft, overcast at 2,900 ft; the ceiling is 2,900 ft; visibility 9 mi.

Section of the sky over Baltimore - Wash Intl, height above the station to scale: a few clouds cloud with its base at 1,800 feet, overcast cloud with its base at 2,900 feet, the ceiling at 2,900 feet, and visibility of 9 mi.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT BWIFIG. A THE SKY OVER BALTIMORE - WASH INTLSECTION, HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALE, EACH LAYER AT THE HEIGHT OF ITS BASE AS REPORTED; COVER IN EIGHTHS OF THE SKY; TOPS NOT MEASUREDFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000ETAGESLOWTHE STATIONTHE CEILOMETER READS TO 12,000 FT, ABOVE THIS SHEETOVC 2,900 FTOVERCAST, 8 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYFEW 1,800 FTA FEW CLOUDS, 1 TO 2 EIGHTHS OF THE SKYCEILING 2,900 FTVISIBILITY, MILES: 9 MI0510TITLEBaltimore - Wash Intl, the skySTATION REPORT · ASOS BWITYPESECTIONSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 1 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-BWI-1DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-SKY-001, FB-SKY-017, FB-SKY-016, FB-SKY-018

The air

61.0 F with a dew point of 58.0 F, 90 per cent relative humidity. Air lifted from the station would cool to its dew point, where cloud forms, about 700 ft up; the lowest cloud reported is at 1,800 ft.

Chart of the air at Baltimore - Wash Intl: temperature 61.0 degrees Fahrenheit and dew point 58.0, 90 per cent relative humidity; air lifted from the station cools along the dry rate and meets its dew point about 700 feet above the station, against the lowest cloud reported at 1,800 feet; height to scale.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT BWIFIG. B THE AIR AT BALTIMORE - WASH INTLTHE REPORTED TEMPERATURE AND DEW POINT, AND AIR LIFTED FROM THE STATION WITHOUT MIXING UNTIL IT SATURATES; HEIGHT ABOVE THE STATION TO SCALEFT ABOVE THE STATION01,0002,0003,00050 F60 F70 FSATURATES 700 FT ABOVE THE STATION, AT 57.3 FLOWEST CLOUD REPORTED, FEW 1,800 FTTEMPERATURE 61.0 FDEW POINT 58.0 FSPREAD 3.0 FRELATIVE HUMIDITY 90 PER CENTTHE AIR COOLS ABOUT 5.4 F EACH 1,000 FT IT RISES, AND ITS DEW POINT ABOUT 1 FSOLID: THE LIFTED AIR'S TEMPERATURE; DASHED: ITS DEW POINTTITLEBaltimore - Wash Intl, the airSTATION REPORT · ASOS BWITYPECHARTSCALEHEIGHT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 2 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-BWI-2DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-WAT-020, FB-WAT-002, FB-ENG-011, FB-ENG-005

The wind

From the east southeast (110 degrees) at 3 mph: force 1, a light air on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 17 mph.

Plan of the wind at Baltimore - Wash Intl, north up: blowing from 110 degrees, the east southeast, at 3 miles an hour; beside it the Beaufort scale from calm to hurricane force, force 1, light air, marked.1122334455667788AABBCCDDEE© 2026 STORM STATION 247THE FIELD BOOKSTATION REPORT BWIFIG. C THE WIND AT BALTIMORE - WASH INTLPLAN, NORTH UP: THE WIND AS REPORTED, AND WHERE IT SITS ON THE BEAUFORT SCALENESWTHE STATIONFROM 110°BEAUFORT FORCELEAST WIND, MPH0CALM01LIGHT AIR1NOW, 3 MPH2LIGHT BREEZE43GENTLE BREEZE84MODERATE BREEZE135FRESH BREEZE196STRONG BREEZE257NEAR GALE328GALE399STRONG GALE4710STORM5511VIOLENT STORM6412HURRICANE FORCE73TITLEBaltimore - Wash Intl, the windSTATION REPORT · ASOS BWITYPEPLAN north upSCALENOT TO SCALEREVAS REPORTED SHEET 3 of 6DATE2026-10-16IDSR-BWI-3DRAWN AS linework on paperSOURCES FB-EVT-150, FB-ENG-008, FB-INS-002

The full report of Baltimore - Wash Intl, in 6 sheets, each beside the Field Book plates that explain it

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Snow on the ground

Elsewhere in Maryland

21 places, each with its own forecast and its own instruments.

Near Columbia

The nearest places, each with its own forecast and the instruments nearest it.

Near Columbia

River and lake gauges