Portlaoise weather in January

In January, Portlaoise sees average daytime highs of 8°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 71 mm of precipitation across 13.3 wet days and about 7.9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 5th-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 10% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 24 min at the start of January to 8 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Portlaoise's 5th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Portlaoise's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
71 mm
13.3 wet days
Daylight
7 h 48 min
8:43 AM – 4:34 PM
Cloud cover
77%
5th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.7 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.1
out of 10

Portlaoise is county town of County Laois, Ireland.

Density
1,942/km²
people per km²
Founded
1557

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 Portlaoise reaches about 8°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 4°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
183
283
383
483
583
683
783
883
983
1083
1183
1283
1383
1483
1583
1683
1783
1883
1983
2083
2183
2283
2383
2483
2583
2683
2783
2883
2983
3083
3183

How January really feels in Portlaoise

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.

Portlaoise 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 / 7113.30.67.91.1
Feb / 5911.70.99.51.2
Mar10° / 6012.20.711.52.0
Apr12° / 6312.60.113.62.9
May15° / 6412.6015.54.0
Jun17° / 10°7012.1016.65.0
Jul19° / 12°6612.5016.25.3
Aug18° / 12°7412.6014.55.3
Sep16° / 10°6210.9012.44.8
Oct13° / 7812.7010.33.3
Nov10° / 7912.40.18.42.0
Dec / 7913.60.67.41.2

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 76%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12575
22476
32575
42575
52674
62674
72674
82674
92674
102773
112773
122674
132674
142575
152575
162575
172575
182476
192476
202377
212377
222278
232179
242179
252179
262179
272179
282278
292179
302179
312179

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Portlaoise gets around 71 mm of rain and snow over 13.3 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 43% and peaks near 46% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1453
2463
3463
4463
5463
6463
7463
8463
9463
10453
11453
12453
13452
14442
15442
16432
17432
18422
19422
20412
21412
22401
23401
24402
25392
26392
27392
28392
29392
30403
31403

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 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
3016light breeze
3116light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 24 min at the start of January to 8 h 36 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 8:50 AM to 8:25 AM, and sunset from 4:14 PM to 5:00 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.48:504:14
27.48:504:15
37.48:504:16
47.58:504:17
57.58:504:19
67.58:494:20
77.58:494:21
87.68:494:22
97.68:484:24
107.68:484:25
117.78:474:26
127.78:464:28
137.78:464:29
147.88:454:31
157.88:444:32
167.88:434:34
177.98:424:35
187.98:424:37
198.08:414:38
208.08:404:40
218.18:384:42
228.18:374:43
238.28:364:45
248.28:354:47
258.28:344:49
268.38:324:50
278.48:314:52
288.48:304:54
298.58:284:56
308.58:274:58
318.68:255:00

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.7 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.53 kWh/m² to a high of 4.81 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.7 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
120.6Dim
130.7Dim
140.7Dim
150.7Dim
160.7Dim
170.7Dim
180.7Dim
190.7Dim
200.7Dim
210.8Dim
220.8Dim
230.8Dim
240.8Dim
250.8Dim
260.8Dim
270.9Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
300.9Dim
311.0Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Portlaoise?

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

1.1
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 Portlaoise.

What to pack for Portlaoise in January

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

In January, Portlaoise sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Portlaoise 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 Portlaoise peaks around August 13 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 13UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Portlaoise?

Portlaoise sits at 53.0°N, 7.3°W, 101 m above sea level, in Ireland. The nearest listed city is Tullamore, 29 km away.

TullamoreCarlowDroichead NuaKilkennyNaasAn Muileann gCearrAthloneCelbridge

Topography around Portlaoise

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Portlaoise has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 55 m around an average of 101 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 453 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 931 m.

The land around Portlaoise is covered by grassland (62%) within 3 km, grassland (68%) within 16 km, and grassland (76%) within 80 km.

3 km
55 m
16 km
453 m
80 km
931 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Tullamore 29 km · Carlow 33 km · Droichead Nua 37 km · Kilkenny 42 km · Naas 47 km · An Muileann gCearr 55 km · Athlone 61 km · Celbridge 61 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 Portlaoise (53.0344°, -7.2998°, elevation 101 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).