Dortmund weather in January

In January, Dortmund sees average daytime highs of 5°C and overnight lows near 0°C, with 83 mm of precipitation across 14.3 wet days and about 8.1 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 5°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Dortmund's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dortmund's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
83 mm
14.3 wet days
Daylight
8 h 06 min
8:37 AM – 4:42 PM
Cloud cover
75%
10th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.77 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10
Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 11.3 µg/m³ · 2019

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 5°C through the month.

A typical January day in Dortmund reaches about 5°C in the afternoon and slips back to 0°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -1°C and 10°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-10°-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
151
251
351
451
551
651
751
851
951
1051
1151
1251
1351
1451
1551
1651
1750
1850
1950
2050
2140
2240
2340
2440
2540
2640
2740
2840
2940
3040
3140

How January really feels in Dortmund

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Dortmund weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 8314.33.58.10.0
Feb / 6812.44.19.60.3
Mar / 7213.71.911.51.8
Apr14° / 5711.50.313.53.8
May18° / 6912.7015.35.3
Jun21° / 12°7612.6016.35.8
Jul23° / 14°9014.2015.96.1
Aug22° / 14°8713.5014.46.1
Sep18° / 11°7512012.45.5
Oct14° / 7412.3010.43.6
Nov / 7514.11.18.61.4
Dec / 8714.73.67.70.1

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 76%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12179
22278
32278
42377
52377
62377
72476
82575
92575
102674
112674
122674
132674
142773
152674
162674
172674
182476
192476
202476
212377
222377
232377
242278
252278
262278
272278
282278
292278
302278
312278

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Dortmund gets around 83 mm of rain and snow over 14.3 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 46% and peaks near 50% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
15012
25011
35011
44910
54910
6489
7489
8479
9478
10468
11468
12459
13459
14459
154510
164410
174411
184412
194412
204513
214514
224514
234515
244515
254515
264516
274516
284416
294416
304416
314316

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, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 16 km/h on the calmest days to 17 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
117light breeze
217light breeze
317light breeze
417light breeze
517light breeze
617light breeze
717light breeze
817light breeze
917light breeze
1017light breeze
1117light breeze
1217light breeze
1317light breeze
1417light breeze
1517light 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
3016light breeze
3116light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:43 AM to 8:21 AM, and sunset from 4:24 PM to 5:06 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.78:434:24
27.78:434:25
37.78:434:26
47.78:434:27
57.88:424:28
67.88:424:29
77.88:424:30
87.88:424:31
97.98:414:32
107.98:414:34
117.98:404:35
127.98:404:36
138.08:394:38
148.08:384:39
158.08:384:40
168.18:374:42
178.18:364:43
188.28:354:45
198.28:344:46
208.28:334:48
218.38:334:50
228.38:314:51
238.48:304:53
248.48:294:54
258.58:284:56
268.58:274:58
278.68:264:59
288.68:255:01
298.78:235:03
308.78:225:05
318.88:215:06

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.77 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.58 kWh/m² to a high of 5.22 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.77 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.6Dim
40.6Dim
50.6Dim
60.6Dim
70.7Dim
80.7Dim
90.7Dim
100.7Dim
110.7Dim
120.7Dim
130.7Dim
140.7Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.8Dim
190.8Dim
200.8Dim
210.8Dim
220.8Dim
230.9Dim
240.9Dim
250.9Dim
260.9Dim
270.9Dim
281.0Dim
291.0Dim
301.0Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Dortmund?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Dortmund.

What to pack for Dortmund in January

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

In January, Dortmund sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near 0°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in Dortmund 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 Dortmund peaks around July 13 at about 6 (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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Dortmund?

Dortmund sits at 51.5°N, 7.5°E, 96 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Huckarde, 4.0 km away.

Topography around Dortmund

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dortmund has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 66 m around an average of 91 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 248 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 848 m.

The land around Dortmund is covered by artificial surfaces (51%) and trees (42%) within 3 km, trees (48%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 16 km, and trees (44%) and cropland (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
66 m
16 km
248 m
80 km
848 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Huckarde 4.0 km · Dorstfeld 4.0 km · Hörde 4.0 km · Eving 4.0 km · Brackel 6.0 km · Scharnhorst 6.0 km · Aplerbeck 7.0 km · Lütgendortmund 8.0 km

Germany travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 80% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,496
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 615
Religion
none 44%Roman Catholic 25%Protestant 23%other 5%

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 Dortmund (51.5149°, 7.466°, elevation 96 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).