Idar-Oberstein weather in January

In January, Idar-Oberstein sees average daytime highs of 3°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 67 mm of precipitation across 12.4 wet days and about 8.4 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 3°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 hours at the start of January to 9 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Idar-Oberstein's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Idar-Oberstein's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
1st coldest
Precipitation
67 mm
12.4 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
8:30 AM – 4:50 PM
Cloud cover
78%
10th clearest
Wind
14 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.9 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Idar-Oberstein is human settlement in Germany.

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 3°C through the month.

A typical January day in Idar-Oberstein reaches about 3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -1°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -3°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
13-1
23-1
33-1
43-1
53-1
63-1
73-1
83-1
93-1
103-1
113-1
123-1
133-1
143-1
153-1
163-1
173-1
183-1
193-1
203-1
213-1
223-1
233-1
243-1
253-1
263-1
273-1
283-1
293-1
303-1
313-1

How January really feels in Idar-Oberstein

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.

Idar-Oberstein weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -1°6712.44.68.40.0
Feb / -1°5710.34.29.80.1
Mar / 6212.52.311.51.6
Apr13° / 5311.20.513.43.5
May17° / 7112.7015.15.0
Jun20° / 12°6711.80165.9
Jul23° / 13°6712.5015.76.4
Aug22° / 13°6311.2014.26.5
Sep18° / 10°619.8012.45.6
Oct13° / 6311.60.110.53.2
Nov / 6512.11.48.80.8
Dec / 8113.64.480.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 79%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11882
21882
31882
41882
51882
61981
71981
81981
92179
102179
112179
122278
132278
142377
152278
162377
172377
182377
192278
202278
212278
222278
232179
242179
252278
262278
272278
282278
292278
302377
312377

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Idar-Oberstein gets around 67 mm of rain and snow over 12.4 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 40% and peaks near 44% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14413
24413
34412
44412
54412
64412
74312
84312
94212
104212
114112
124012
134012
143912
153913
163813
173813
183814
193815
203815
213816
223817
233817
243818
253818
263818
273819
283719
293719
303719
313718

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, the windiest month of the year.

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

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
114light breeze
214light breeze
314light breeze
414light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
714light breeze
814light breeze
914light breeze
1014light breeze
1114light breeze
1214light breeze
1314light 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 hours at the start of January to 9 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:35 AM to 8:15 AM, and sunset from 4:33 PM to 5:13 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.08:354:33
28.08:354:34
38.08:354:35
48.08:354:36
58.08:344:37
68.18:344:38
78.18:344:39
88.18:344:40
98.18:334:41
108.28:334:43
118.28:324:44
128.28:324:45
138.38:314:46
148.38:314:48
158.38:304:49
168.38:304:50
178.48:294:52
188.48:284:53
198.58:274:55
208.58:274:56
218.58:264:58
228.68:254:59
238.68:245:01
248.78:235:02
258.78:225:04
268.78:215:05
278.88:205:07
288.88:185:09
298.98:175:10
308.98:165:12
319.08:155:13

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.9 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.67 kWh/m² to a high of 5.52 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.9 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.8Dim
80.8Dim
90.8Dim
100.8Dim
110.8Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.9Dim
160.9Dim
170.9Dim
180.9Dim
190.9Dim
201.0Dim
211.0Dim
221.0Dim
231.0Dim
241.1Dim
251.1Dim
261.1Dim
271.1Dim
281.1Dim
291.2Dim
301.2Dim
311.2Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Idar-Oberstein?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Idar-Oberstein.

What to pack for Idar-Oberstein in January

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

In January, Idar-Oberstein sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Idar-Oberstein 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 Idar-Oberstein peaks around July 16 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 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 16UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Idar-Oberstein 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 Idar-Oberstein is worst in April — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (November, 9 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1515 µg/m³Nov 239 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb11Good
Mar14Moderate
Apr15Moderate
May13Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul12Good
Aug12Good
Sep11Good
Oct10Good
Nov9Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Idar-Oberstein?

Idar-Oberstein sits at 49.7°N, 7.3°E, 288 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Sankt Wendel, 29 km away.

Topography around Idar-Oberstein

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Idar-Oberstein has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 269 m around an average of 375 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 641 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 768 m.

The land around Idar-Oberstein is covered by trees (70%) within 3 km, trees (66%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and trees (54%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
269 m
16 km
641 m
80 km
768 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Sankt Wendel 29 km · Wadern 36 km · Schiffweiler 41 km · Bexbach 41 km · Neunkirchen 42 km · Illingen 42 km · Wittlich 42 km · Bad Kreuznach 43 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 Idar-Oberstein (49.7144°, 7.3078°, elevation 288 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).