Edmonton weather in January

In January, Edmonton sees average daytime highs of -8°C and overnight lows near -16°C, with 18 mm of precipitation across 5.6 wet days and about 7.8 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -9°C in the first days to -6°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 18 min at the start of January to 8 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Edmonton's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Edmonton's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-8°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-16°
1st coldest
Precipitation
18 mm
5.6 wet days
Daylight
7 h 48 min
8:51 AM – 4:36 PM
Cloud cover
67%
10th clearest
Wind
13 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
1.08 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Edmonton is capital city of the province of Alberta, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 8.2 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,475/km²
people per km²
Founded
1904

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -9°C in the first days to -6°C by the end.

A typical January day in Edmonton reaches about -8°C in the afternoon and slips back to -16°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -21°C and 3°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 3°C cooler than February.

-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-8-16
2-8-17
3-9-17
4-9-17
5-9-17
6-9-17
7-9-17
8-9-17
9-9-17
10-9-17
11-8-17
12-8-17
13-8-17
14-8-16
15-8-16
16-8-16
17-8-16
18-8-16
19-7-16
20-7-16
21-7-15
22-7-15
23-7-15
24-7-15
25-7-15
26-6-15
27-6-15
28-6-15
29-6-15
30-6-15
31-6-15

How January really feels in Edmonton

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Edmonton weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-8° / -16°185.65.67.80.0
Feb-5° / -14°113.449.40.0
Mar / -9°1654.911.50.0
Apr / -2°336.52.913.72.1
May16° / 538.40.815.65.2
Jun20° / 8613.3016.75.7
Jul22° / 11°8813.5016.36.3
Aug21° / 10°589.8014.66.6
Sep17° / 387.10.312.55.6
Oct / -1°235.62.110.32.0
Nov-1° / -9°215.65.38.30.0
Dec-7° / -15°144.65.47.30.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 63%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13763
23664
33664
43763
53763
63664
73664
83664
93664
103664
113763
123664
133763
143763
153763
163763
173763
183763
193862
203862
213862
223961
233961
243961
253862
263862
273862
283862
293961
303961
313862

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Edmonton gets around 18 mm of rain and snow over 5.6 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 17% and peaks near 18% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11517
21618
31618
41618
51719
61719
71719
81719
91819
101819
111819
121819
131819
141819
151819
161819
171819
181819
191819
201818
211818
221817
231817
241817
251716
261716
271716
281615
291615
301515
311514

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of January feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 13 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112light breeze
212light breeze
312light breeze
412light breeze
512light breeze
612light breeze
712light breeze
812light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1713light breeze
1813light breeze
1913light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze
3113light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 18 min at the start of January to 8 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:58 AM to 8:32 AM, and sunset from 4:16 PM to 5:02 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.38:584:16
27.38:584:17
37.38:584:18
47.48:584:19
57.48:574:20
67.48:574:22
77.48:574:23
87.58:564:24
97.58:564:25
107.58:554:27
117.68:544:28
127.68:544:30
137.68:534:31
147.78:524:33
157.78:514:34
167.88:514:36
177.88:504:37
187.88:494:39
197.98:484:41
207.98:474:42
218.08:464:44
228.08:444:46
238.18:434:47
248.18:424:49
258.28:414:51
268.28:394:53
278.38:384:55
288.38:374:57
298.48:354:58
308.48:345:00
318.58:325:02

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.08 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.83 kWh/m² to a high of 6.22 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.08 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.9Dim
20.9Dim
30.9Dim
40.9Dim
50.9Dim
60.9Dim
70.9Dim
80.9Dim
90.9Dim
101.0Dim
111.0Dim
121.0Dim
131.0Dim
141.0Dim
151.1Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.2Dim
211.2Dim
221.2Dim
231.2Dim
241.3Dim
251.3Dim
261.3Dim
271.4Dim
281.4Dim
291.4Dim
301.5Dim
311.5Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Edmonton?

Our two travel scores rate January for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Edmonton.

What to pack for Edmonton in January

From January's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In January, Edmonton sees daytime highs around -8°C and nights near -16°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Edmonton in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Edmonton peaks around July 14 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 14UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul7Very high
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Edmonton?

Edmonton sits at 53.6°N, 113.5°W, 668 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Wîhkwêntôwin, 4.0 km away.

Topography around Edmonton

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Edmonton.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Edmonton has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 75 m around an average of 657 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 165 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 391 m.

The land around Edmonton is covered by artificial surfaces (55%) and trees (29%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (40%) and grassland (25%) within 16 km, and cropland (45%), grassland (28%) and trees (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
75 m
16 km
165 m
80 km
391 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Wîhkwêntôwin 4.0 km · Sherwood Park 11 km · St. Albert 14 km · Spruce Grove 30 km · Leduc 32 km · Stony Plain 35 km · Camrose 73 km · Sylvan Lake 144 km

Canada travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 83% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$55,698
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Edmonton (53.5501°, -113.4687°, elevation 668 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).