What causes NUMERIC_OPERATOR_OVERFLOW?

POWER() or exponentiation producing a result larger than NUMBER(38). Multiplying two large NUMBER columns where the result precision exceeds 38 digits. Intermediate result in a complex expression overflows even if the final result would fit. FACTORIAL() called with a large input (n > 33 overflows NUMBER(38)). SUM() or running total across very large values in a window function

How do I fix NUMERIC_OPERATOR_OVERFLOW?

Cast inputs to FLOAT before the operation to use IEEE 754 double precision (trades exactness for range): CAST(col AS FLOAT) * CAST(col2 AS FLOAT). Use ROUND() to reduce precision of intermediate values before multiplication. Break complex expressions into CTEs, inspecting intermediate values for overflow risk. For POWER() with large exponents, consider using FLOAT arithmetic and rounding the final result. Add a CASE guard to cap inputs before the operation: CASE WHEN ABS(val) > 1e18 THEN NULL ELSE val * val END

Medium severityexecution

Power BI Refresh Error:
NUMERIC_OPERATOR_OVERFLOW

What does this error mean?

An arithmetic operation produced a result that exceeds the maximum precision or range of Snowflake's numeric types. Unlike 000132 (column overflow), this is an operator-level overflow during expression evaluation.

Common causes

1POWER() or exponentiation producing a result larger than NUMBER(38)
2Multiplying two large NUMBER columns where the result precision exceeds 38 digits
3Intermediate result in a complex expression overflows even if the final result would fit
4FACTORIAL() called with a large input (n > 33 overflows NUMBER(38))
5SUM() or running total across very large values in a window function

How to fix it

1Cast inputs to FLOAT before the operation to use IEEE 754 double precision (trades exactness for range): CAST(col AS FLOAT) * CAST(col2 AS FLOAT)
2Use ROUND() to reduce precision of intermediate values before multiplication
3Break complex expressions into CTEs, inspecting intermediate values for overflow risk
4For POWER() with large exponents, consider using FLOAT arithmetic and rounding the final result
5Add a CASE guard to cap inputs before the operation: CASE WHEN ABS(val) > 1e18 THEN NULL ELSE val * val END

Frequently asked questions

Does Snowflake support arbitrary precision arithmetic?

No — Snowflake's NUMBER type supports a maximum precision of 38 significant digits. For higher precision, use string representation and external processing, or split computations to manage intermediate precision.

Is NUMERIC_OPERATOR_OVERFLOW the same as error 000132?

Related but different: 000132 occurs when a value is too large for a column's defined type on INSERT/CAST. NUMERIC_OPERATOR_OVERFLOW occurs during operator evaluation in an expression, before any column assignment.