Sooke weather in January

In January, Sooke sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 237 mm of precipitation across 20.1 wet days and about 8.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Sooke's 11th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sooke's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
237 mm
20.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 30 min
8:08 AM – 4:40 PM
Cloud cover
78%
11th clearest
Wind
14 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
1.02 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.5
out of 10

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Sooke reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 2°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 4°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
164
264
364
464
564
664
764
864
964
1064
1165
1265
1375
1475
1575
1675
1775
1875
1975
2075
2175
2275
2375
2475
2575
2675
2775
2875
2975
3075
3175

Sooke weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 23720.13.18.60.5
Feb / 14815.62.49.90.6
Mar / 16618.11.711.61.0
Apr10° / 10713.60.213.41.9
May12° / 639.30153.3
Jun14° / 10°457.5015.84.3
Jul16° / 12°244.2015.56.1
Aug17° / 13°344.4014.16.4
Sep15° / 12°597.9012.45.1
Oct12° / 15515010.62.7
Nov / 24019.4191.2
Dec / 23419.93.18.20.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 80%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12080
22080
32080
42080
52080
62080
71981
81981
92179
102179
112080
122080
132080
142080
152080
162080
172080
182080
192080
202179
212179
222179
232179
242179
252179
262179
272179
282179
292179
302179
312179

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Sooke gets around 237 mm of rain and snow over 20.1 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 65% and peaks near 67% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
16611
26711
36711
46711
56611
66611
76611
86611
96511
106511
116511
126511
136511
146511
156510
166410
17649
18649
19649
20649
21648
22648
23648
24648
25648
26648
27638
28638
29628
30618
31618

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 13 km/h on the calmest days to 16 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
316light breeze
416light 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
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:13 AM to 7:55 AM, and sunset from 4:23 PM to 5:02 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.28:134:23
28.28:134:24
38.28:134:25
48.28:134:26
58.28:134:27
68.38:124:28
78.38:124:29
88.38:124:30
98.38:124:31
108.48:114:33
118.48:114:34
128.48:104:35
138.48:104:36
148.58:094:37
158.58:094:39
168.58:084:40
178.68:084:41
188.68:074:43
198.68:064:44
208.78:054:46
218.78:054:47
228.78:044:48
238.88:034:50
248.88:024:51
258.98:014:53
268.98:004:54
278.97:594:56
289.07:584:57
299.07:574:59
309.17:565:00
319.17:555:02

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.02 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.86 kWh/m² to a high of 6.53 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.02 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
100.9Dim
110.9Dim
120.9Dim
131.0Dim
141.0Dim
151.0Dim
161.0Dim
171.0Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.1Dim
221.1Dim
231.1Dim
241.2Dim
251.2Dim
261.2Dim
271.2Dim
281.3Dim
291.3Dim
301.3Dim
311.4Dim
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Sooke

In seasonPeak

In January, Sooke sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Sooke's rainy season runs October–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Sooke?

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

0.5
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Sooke.

What to pack for Sooke in January

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

In January, Sooke sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 5°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 20 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Sooke in January

The nearest coast averages about 8°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 12°C and coldest in January near 8°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

6°8°10°12°14°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul12Bracing
Aug12Bracing
Sep11Bracing
Oct10Bracing
Nov9Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Sooke 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 Sooke peaks around July 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 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 18UV 8Dec 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Sooke?

Sooke sits at 48.4°N, 123.7°W, 39 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Langford, 19 km away.

Topography around Sooke

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sooke has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 279 m around an average of 47 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 881 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,351 m.

The land around Sooke is covered by trees (58%) and water (29%) within 3 km, trees (54%) and water (42%) within 16 km, and trees (57%) and water (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
279 m
16 km
881 m
80 km
2,351 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Langford 19 km · Colwood 19 km · Esquimalt 24 km · Carey 27 km · Victoria-Downtown 28 km · Victoria 29 km · Central Saanich 31 km · Oak Bay 32 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 Sooke (48.3746°, -123.7276°, elevation 39 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).