Balbriggan weather in January

In January, Balbriggan sees average daytime highs of 8°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 63 mm of precipitation across 12.3 wet days and about 7.8 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 8°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 18 min at the start of January to 8 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Balbriggan's 5th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Balbriggan's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
63 mm
12.3 wet days
Daylight
7 h 42 min
8:42 AM – 4:26 PM
Cloud cover
73%
5th clearest
Wind
19 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.71 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.3
out of 10

Balbriggan is town in County Dublin, Ireland.

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 8°C through the month.

A typical January day in Balbriggan reaches about 8°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 4°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
184
284
384
484
584
684
784
884
984
1084
1184
1284
1384
1484
1584
1684
1784
1884
1984
2084
2184
2284
2384
2484
2584
2684
2784
2884
2984
3084
3184

How January really feels in Balbriggan

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 29 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
29
wind chill below the day's low

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

Balbriggan weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6312.30.67.81.3
Feb / 5011.10.99.41.4
Mar10° / 5211.70.711.52.0
Apr12° / 5812.6013.72.8
May14° / 5912.7015.63.9
Jun17° / 11°6711.7016.75.0
Jul19° / 13°7013.6016.35.3
Aug19° / 13°7212.4014.65.4
Sep17° / 11°6411.5012.54.9
Oct14° / 7111.5010.33.6
Nov10° / 8012.90.28.32.2
Dec / 7012.10.47.31.5

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 15% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23367
33367
43466
53466
63466
73466
83367
93367
103367
113367
123169
133169
143070
153070
162971
172971
182872
192674
202674
212674
222575
232575
242575
252674
262476
272476
282476
292476
302476
312476

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Balbriggan gets around 63 mm of rain and snow over 12.3 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 40% and peaks near 44% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1432
2432
3442
4442
5442
6442
7442
8432
9433
10433
11423
12423
13412
14412
15402
16402
17392
18392
19382
20382
21382
22372
23372
24372
25372
26372
27372
28372
29372
30372
31372

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 19 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 19 km/h on the calmest days to 20 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
120light breeze
220light breeze
320light breeze
420light breeze
520light breeze
620light breeze
720light breeze
820light breeze
920light breeze
1020light breeze
1120light breeze
1220light breeze
1320light breeze
1420light breeze
1520light breeze
1619light breeze
1719light breeze
1819light breeze
1919light breeze
2019light breeze
2119light breeze
2219light breeze
2319light breeze
2419light breeze
2519light breeze
2619light breeze
2719light breeze
2819light breeze
2919light breeze
3019light breeze
3119light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 18 min at the start of January to 8 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:49 AM to 8:23 AM, and sunset from 4:06 PM to 4:53 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.38:494:06
27.38:494:08
37.38:494:09
47.38:494:10
57.48:484:11
67.48:484:12
77.48:484:13
87.58:474:15
97.58:474:16
107.58:464:17
117.68:464:19
127.68:454:20
137.68:444:22
147.78:434:23
157.78:434:25
167.78:424:26
177.88:414:28
187.88:404:29
197.98:394:31
207.98:384:33
218.08:374:35
228.08:364:36
238.18:344:38
248.18:334:40
258.28:324:42
268.28:314:43
278.38:294:45
288.38:284:47
298.48:264:49
308.48:254:51
318.58:234:53

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.71 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.54 kWh/m² to a high of 5.22 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.71 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
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
120.7Dim
130.7Dim
140.7Dim
150.7Dim
160.7Dim
170.7Dim
180.7Dim
190.7Dim
200.8Dim
210.8Dim
220.8Dim
230.8Dim
240.8Dim
250.8Dim
260.9Dim
270.9Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
301.0Dim
311.0Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Balbriggan?

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

1.3
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Balbriggan.

What to pack for Balbriggan in January

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

In January, Balbriggan sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Balbriggan in January

The nearest coast averages about 9°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 15°C and coldest in March near 8°C.

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

10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan9Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun13Bracing
Jul15Bracing
Aug15Cool
Sep14Bracing
Oct13Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Balbriggan 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 Balbriggan peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. 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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Balbriggan?

Balbriggan sits at 53.6°N, 6.2°W, 12 m above sea level, in Ireland. The nearest listed city is Drogheda, 16 km away.

FinglasBlanchardstownDublinLucan

Topography around Balbriggan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Balbriggan has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 100 m around an average of 23 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 194 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 946 m.

The land around Balbriggan is covered by water (39%), grassland (22%) and cropland (21%) within 3 km, water (47%) and grassland (27%) within 16 km, and grassland (54%) and water (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
100 m
16 km
194 m
80 km
946 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Drogheda 16 km · Swords 17 km · Malahide 18 km · Donaghmede 23 km · Finglas 26 km · Blanchardstown 28 km · Dublin 31 km · Lucan 33 km

Ireland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 85% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$131,592
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
96%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Roman Catholic 69%none 15%Protestant 4%Orthodox 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 Balbriggan (53.6085°, -6.1831°, elevation 12 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).