Kingston weather in January

In January, Kingston sees average daytime highs of -3°C and overnight lows near -10°C, with 74 mm of precipitation across 10.8 wet days and about 9.1 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -1°C in the first days to -3°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 42 min at the start of January to 9 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Kingston's 10th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kingston's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-3°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-10°
1st coldest
Precipitation
74 mm
10.8 wet days
Daylight
9 hours
7:44 AM – 4:46 PM
Cloud cover
72%
10th clearest
Wind
14 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
1.72 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Kingston is city in Ontario, Canada.

Air quality
Excellent
PM2.5 5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
294/km²
people per km²
Founded
1673

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -1°C in the first days to -3°C by the end.

A typical January day in Kingston reaches about -3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -10°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -11°C and 4°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 4°C cooler than December and on par with February.

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

How January really feels in Kingston

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.

Kingston weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-3° / -10°7410.88.89.10.0
Feb-2° / -9°599.17.210.20.0
Mar / -5°73105.811.60.0
Apr10° / 10111.5213.22.0
May17° / 10°8111.2014.55.1
Jun22° / 16°9711.4015.36.5
Jul25° / 19°9911.30156.7
Aug24° / 18°9611.1013.86.8
Sep20° / 13°9510.1012.36.3
Oct13° / 10412.70.210.83.5
Nov / 89112.69.40.8
Dec / -5°83127.48.70.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
22773
32773
42872
52773
62872
72872
82872
92872
102872
112872
122872
132872
142971
153070
163070
173070
183070
193169
203169
213169
223169
233169
243268
253268
263268
273268
283268
293268
303268
313367

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Kingston gets around 74 mm of rain and snow over 10.8 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 35% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13927
23928
33928
43928
53928
63928
73929
83829
93829
103829
113728
123728
133628
143628
153527
163427
173427
183327
193327
203227
213227
223228
233228
243228
253228
263228
273228
283229
293229
303229
313229

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 14 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1414light breeze
1514light breeze
1614light breeze
1714light breeze
1814light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 42 min at the start of January to 9 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 48 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:47 AM to 7:33 AM, and sunset from 4:31 PM to 5:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.77:474:31
28.77:474:32
38.87:474:33
48.87:474:34
58.87:474:34
68.87:474:35
78.87:474:36
88.87:474:37
98.97:474:38
108.97:474:39
118.97:464:40
128.97:464:41
138.97:464:43
149.07:454:44
159.07:454:45
169.07:444:46
179.17:444:47
189.17:434:48
199.17:434:50
209.17:424:51
219.27:424:52
229.27:414:53
239.27:404:55
249.37:404:56
259.37:394:57
269.37:384:58
279.47:375:00
289.47:365:01
299.47:355:02
309.57:345:04
319.57:335:05

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.72 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.29 kWh/m² to a high of 6.29 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 1.72 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.4Dim
21.4Dim
31.4Dim
41.4Dim
51.4Dim
61.4Dim
71.5Dim
81.5Dim
91.5Dim
101.5Dim
111.6Dim
121.6Dim
131.6Dim
141.6Dim
151.7Dim
161.7Dim
171.7Dim
181.8Dim
191.8Dim
201.8Dim
211.9Dim
221.9Dim
231.9Dim
242.0Dim
252.0Moderate
262.0Moderate
272.1Moderate
282.1Moderate
292.1Moderate
302.2Moderate
312.2Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Kingston?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
9th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kingston.

What to pack for Kingston in January

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

In January, Kingston sees daytime highs around -3°C and nights near -10°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Kingston in January

The nearest coast averages about 3°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 14 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in March near 1°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 13 to Sep 12 — about 2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

0°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan3Bracing
Feb2Bracing
Mar1Bracing
Apr3Bracing
May7Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul21Refreshing
Aug22Refreshing
Sep20Cool
Oct15Bracing
Nov10Bracing
Dec6Bracing

UV index in Kingston 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 Kingston peaks around July 12 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 12UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug5High
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kingston?

Kingston sits at 44.2°N, 76.5°W, 70 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Greater Napanee, 37 km away.

Topography around Kingston

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kingston has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 43 m around an average of 84 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 94 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 487 m.

The land around Kingston is covered by water (49%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, water (37%), trees (25%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and trees (47%) and water (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
43 m
16 km
94 m
80 km
487 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
January weather nearby: Greater Napanee 37 km · Watertown 54 km · Prince Edward 66 km · Belleville 72 km · Brockville 75 km · Oswego 86 km · Quinte West 87 km · Clay 119 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 Kingston (44.2298°, -76.481°, elevation 70 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).