Fort McMurray weather in January

In January, Fort McMurray sees average daytime highs of -12°C and overnight lows near -21°C, with 15 mm of precipitation across 5.1 wet days and about 7.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -13°C in the first days to -10°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 6 h 36 min at the start of January to 8 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Fort McMurray's 7th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort McMurray's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-12°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-21°
1st coldest
Precipitation
15 mm
5.1 wet days
Daylight
7 h 06 min
9:01 AM – 4:09 PM
Cloud cover
65%
7th clearest
Wind
9 km/h
12th windiest
Solar energy
0.72 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Fort McMurray is municipality in Alberta, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,276/km²
people per km²
Founded
1947

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 -13°C in the first days to -10°C by the end.

A typical January day in Fort McMurray reaches about -12°C in the afternoon and slips back to -21°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -25°C and 1°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and about 4°C cooler than February.

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

How January really feels in Fort McMurray

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.

Fort McMurray weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-12° / -21°155.16.27.20.0
Feb-8° / -19°123.64.49.10.0
Mar-0° / -13°175.3511.40.0
Apr / -3°245.63.313.92.1
May17° / 377.60.816.15.5
Jun21° / 7911.7017.46.0
Jul23° / 12°8213.4016.96.3
Aug22° / 10°6310.3014.96.5
Sep16° / 518.50.312.54.9
Oct / -2°286.43.2101.1
Nov-4° / -11°185.76.27.80.0
Dec-10° / -19°164.85.76.60.0

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 16% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 60%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
23961
33961
43961
53961
63862
73862
83961
93961
103961
113961
124159
134159
144159
154159
164159
174159
184159
194159
204159
214159
224159
234159
244060
253961
263961
274060
284060
294060
304060
314060

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Fort McMurray gets around 15 mm of rain and snow over 5.1 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 16% and peaks near 18% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11216
21217
31317
41318
51419
61419
71520
81520
91520
101521
111521
121521
131621
141621
151621
161621
171621
181720
191720
201720
211720
221820
231820
241820
251820
261820
271820
281820
291819
301719
311718

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 9 km/h in January, the calmest month.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 36 min at the start of January to 8 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:11 AM to 8:38 AM, and sunset from 3:47 PM to 4:39 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.69:113:47
26.69:113:48
36.69:103:49
46.79:103:50
56.79:093:51
66.79:093:53
76.89:083:54
86.89:083:56
96.89:073:57
106.99:063:59
116.99:064:00
127.09:054:02
137.09:044:04
147.09:034:05
157.19:024:07
167.19:014:09
177.28:594:11
187.28:584:13
197.38:574:15
207.38:564:17
217.48:544:18
227.58:534:20
237.58:524:22
247.68:504:25
257.68:484:27
267.78:474:29
277.88:454:31
287.88:444:33
297.98:424:35
308.08:404:37
318.08:384:39

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.72 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.49 kWh/m² to a high of 5.84 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.72 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.5Dim
20.5Dim
30.5Dim
40.5Dim
50.6Dim
60.6Dim
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
120.6Dim
130.7Dim
140.7Dim
150.7Dim
160.7Dim
170.7Dim
180.7Dim
190.8Dim
200.8Dim
210.8Dim
220.8Dim
230.8Dim
240.9Dim
250.9Dim
260.9Dim
271.0Dim
281.0Dim
291.0Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Fort McMurray?

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 Fort McMurray.

What to pack for Fort McMurray in January

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

In January, Fort McMurray sees daytime highs around -12°C and nights near -21°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Fort McMurray in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort McMurray peaks around July 13 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Air quality in Fort McMurray in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where January falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Fort McMurray is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 14.2× the cleanest month (October, 1 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Fort McMurray's WHO annual average of 6.5 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodJul 1618 µg/m³Oct 202 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb2Good
Mar3Good
Apr4Good
May16Moderate
Jun8Good
Jul20Moderate
Aug8Good
Sep5Good
Oct1Good
Nov3Good
Dec5Good
Location & terrain

Where is Fort McMurray?

Fort McMurray sits at 56.7°N, 111.4°W, 258 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is St. Albert, 373 km away.

St. AlbertEdmontonSherwood ParkWîhkwêntôwinSpruce GroveStony PlainLloydminsterLeduc

Topography around Fort McMurray

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort McMurray has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 289 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 230 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 581 m.

The land around Fort McMurray is covered by trees (52%) within 3 km, trees (65%) and grassland (26%) within 16 km, and trees (78%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
230 m
80 km
581 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: St. Albert 373 km · Edmonton 377 km · Sherwood Park 378 km · Wîhkwêntôwin 379 km · Spruce Grove 390 km · Stony Plain 392 km · Lloydminster 394 km · Leduc 409 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 Fort McMurray (56.7268°, -111.381°, elevation 258 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).