Pool season · South Carolina
Columbia Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 25, 2026 · dates · water temp
Columbia's whole pool calendar, condensed: when the water warms, when it cools, and where today falls between those edges. Use the opening guide and closing guide for the step-by-step work; keep this page for the dates.
Columbia, SC — 159 swim days a yearReading it takes ten seconds: 52 dots, one per week. Solid teal is Columbia's swim season; the hollow teal run before it (March 18 to April 8) is when to open; the hollow amber run after is when to close, with November 4 as the deadline; gray is the covered season. Today's marker shows where you stand in that cycle right now.
The Columbia pool calendar
Opening — target March 25
Open by March 25 — a two-week head start on the April 8 crossing keeps startup chemistry small and beats the local service rush.
Closing — deadline November 4
Hold the cover until October 25, then winterize by November 4, a week ahead of the November 15 freeze normal. Late and cold beats early and warm.
Estimated water temperature by month
This is Columbia's typical-year water curve: the same EWMA model as the live widget, run on the 1991–2020 normals instead of this week's weather.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46° | 46° | 52° | 59° | 68° | 75° | 81° | 81° | 78° | 70° | 59° | 50° |
Warmest water typically July–September (peaking near 82°F); heaters and covers shift any month up.
Every station tells its own story: compare this curve with Charleston's pool season and Florence's — neighboring normals stations can shift the windows by a week or more. The full ranking lives on the South Carolina season index.
Columbia pool season FAQ
When should I open my pool in Columbia, SC?
The site model recommends opening by March 25 — about two weeks before Columbia's 7-day mean temperature crosses 61°F, while the water is still too cold for algae. The step-by-step sequence is in the Columbia opening guide.
When should I close my pool in Columbia?
Winterize by November 4. The model holds the deadline a week ahead of Columbia's NOAA 50% first-freeze date, so the plumbing is protected before the first hard night. The full sequence is in the Columbia closing guide.
How long is the swim season in Columbia?
Columbia averages 159 days a year with normal highs of 80°F or better — right on the statewide median. The South Carolina season index ranks all 12 covered cities by the same metric.
How warm does pool water get in Columbia?
An unheated pool near Columbia typically peaks around 82°F in high summer and bottoms out near 45°F in winter, spending roughly 2 months at or above the 78°F comfort line most swimmers prefer. The month-by-month curve above shows the whole cycle; the methodology page explains the ±5°F error bars.
Email me when Columbia hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Sandhill Rsch - Elgin (6.8 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.