Viljandi weather in January

In January, Viljandi sees average daytime highs of -2°C and overnight lows near -6°C, with 47 mm of precipitation across 11.1 wet days and about 6.8 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -2°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 6 h 12 min at the start of January to 7 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Viljandi's 10th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Viljandi's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-2°
11th warmest
Overnight low
-6°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
47 mm
11.1 wet days
Daylight
6 h 48 min
9:04 AM – 3:50 PM
Cloud cover
84%
10th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.39 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Viljandi is town in southern Estonia.

Density
1,187/km²
people per km²
Founded
1263

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -2°C through the month.

A typical January day in Viljandi reaches about -2°C in the afternoon and slips back to -6°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -10°C and 4°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and on par with February.

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

How January really feels in Viljandi

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.

Viljandi weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-2° / -6°4711.19.36.80.0
Feb-2° / -7°419.488.90.0
Mar / -4°399.66.311.40.0
Apr10° / 439.82.2142.2
May16° / 5310.60.116.44.9
Jun19° / 10°9012.7017.85.7
Jul22° / 13°8112.4017.26.2
Aug21° / 12°9013.3015.15.9
Sep16° / 5711.2012.54.5
Oct / 6611.90.99.91.6
Nov / -1°5311.24.47.50.0
Dec-0° / -4°5011.58.46.20.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 7% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 85%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11486
21486
31486
41486
51585
61585
71585
81486
91486
101585
111585
121585
131486
141486
151486
161486
171486
181486
191486
201486
211486
221486
231585
241585
251585
261684
271684
281783
291783
301783
311783

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Viljandi gets around 47 mm of rain and snow over 11.1 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 36% and peaks near 42% 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 (%)
14133
24233
34233
44233
54233
64233
74233
84232
94232
104131
114031
123930
133929
143829
153728
163528
173427
183327
193227
203127
213127
223027
233027
243027
253028
263028
273029
283029
293129
303129
313129

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 16 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 15 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
116light breeze
216light breeze
316light breeze
416light breeze
516light breeze
616light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2516light breeze
2616light breeze
2716light breeze
2816light breeze
2916light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 12 min at the start of January to 7 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:16 AM to 8:39 AM, and sunset from 3:26 PM to 4:23 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.29:163:26
26.29:163:27
36.29:153:28
46.29:153:29
56.39:143:31
66.39:143:32
76.39:133:34
86.49:123:35
96.49:113:37
106.59:113:39
116.59:103:40
126.69:093:42
136.69:083:44
146.79:063:46
156.79:053:48
166.89:043:50
176.89:033:52
186.99:013:54
196.99:003:56
207.08:583:58
217.18:574:00
227.18:554:02
237.28:544:05
247.28:524:07
257.38:504:09
267.48:494:11
277.48:474:14
287.58:454:16
297.68:434:18
307.78:414:20
317.78:394:23

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.39 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.23 kWh/m² to a high of 5.46 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.39 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.3Dim
20.3Dim
30.3Dim
40.3Dim
50.3Dim
60.3Dim
70.3Dim
80.3Dim
90.3Dim
100.3Dim
110.3Dim
120.3Dim
130.3Dim
140.3Dim
150.4Dim
160.4Dim
170.4Dim
180.4Dim
190.4Dim
200.4Dim
210.5Dim
220.5Dim
230.5Dim
240.5Dim
250.5Dim
260.5Dim
270.6Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.7Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Viljandi?

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 Viljandi.

What to pack for Viljandi in January

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

In January, Viljandi sees daytime highs around -2°C and nights near -6°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Viljandi 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 Viljandi peaks around June 20 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 5 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 20UV 6Dec 17UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun6High
Jul5High
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Viljandi?

Viljandi sits at 58.4°N, 25.6°E, 84 m above sea level, in Estonia. The nearest listed city is Otepää, 63 km away.

OtepääPärnuTartuValgaValmieraRakvereNõmme

Topography around Viljandi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Viljandi has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 67 m around an average of 74 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 119 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 222 m.

The land around Viljandi is covered by trees (33%), grassland (26%) and cropland (21%) within 3 km, trees (56%) and cropland (26%) within 16 km, and trees (60%) within 80 km.

3 km
67 m
16 km
119 m
80 km
222 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
January weather nearby: Otepää 63 km · Pärnu 64 km · Tartu 66 km · Valga 70 km · Valmiera 92 km · Rakvere 118 km · Cēsis 118 km · Nõmme 124 km

Estonia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 66% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$34,418
2025
Happiness
6.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.5
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4.5
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 561
Religion
none 58%Orthodox 17%Protestant 9%other 3%

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 Viljandi (58.3632°, 25.5916°, elevation 84 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).