Sligo weather in January

In January, Sligo sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 109 mm of precipitation across 17.6 wet days and about 7.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 12 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Sligo's 5th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sligo's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
109 mm
17.6 wet days
Daylight
7 h 36 min
8:54 AM – 4:32 PM
Cloud cover
79%
5th clearest
Wind
17 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.61 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.9
out of 10

Sligo is main town in county Sligo, Ireland.

Density
668/km²
people per km²

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 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Sligo reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°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 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)
173
273
373
473
573
673
773
873
973
1073
1173
1273
1373
1473
1573
1673
1773
1873
1973
2073
2173
2273
2373
2473
2573
2673
2773
2873
2983
3083
3183

How January really feels in Sligo

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.

Sligo 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 / 10917.61.47.70.9
Feb / 9415.41.39.31.0
Mar / 9116.40.911.51.7
Apr12° / 8414.90.213.72.6
May14° / 9615.1015.73.6
Jun16° / 10°9915.5016.84.2
Jul18° / 12°11017.9016.44.5
Aug18° / 12°10818014.74.4
Sep16° / 10°9115012.54.1
Oct13° / 11016.7010.22.9
Nov10° / 11017.50.18.21.6
Dec / 11418.20.97.21.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 6% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 82%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11981
21981
32080
42080
51981
61981
71981
81981
91981
101981
111882
121882
131882
141882
151882
161882
171783
181684
191684
201684
211783
221783
231783
241783
251783
261783
271783
281783
291783
301882
311783

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Sligo gets around 109 mm of rain and snow over 17.6 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 57% and peaks near 59% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1594
2594
3594
4594
5594
6594
7595
8595
9595
10595
11595
12596
13596
14596
15596
16596
17586
18585
19575
20575
21565
22565
23555
24555
25545
26545
27545
28545
29545
30555
31555

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 18 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
418light breeze
518light breeze
618light breeze
718light breeze
818light breeze
918light breeze
1018light breeze
1118light breeze
1218light breeze
1318light breeze
1417light breeze
1517light breeze
1617light breeze
1717light breeze
1817light breeze
1917light breeze
2017light breeze
2117light breeze
2217light breeze
2317light breeze
2417light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 12 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 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 9:02 AM to 8:35 AM, and sunset from 4:12 PM to 4:59 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.29:024:12
27.29:024:13
37.29:024:14
47.29:024:15
57.29:024:16
67.39:014:17
77.39:014:19
87.39:004:20
97.49:004:21
107.48:594:23
117.48:584:24
127.58:584:26
137.58:574:27
147.58:564:29
157.68:554:30
167.68:544:32
177.78:544:34
187.78:524:35
197.88:514:37
207.88:504:39
217.98:494:40
227.98:484:42
238.08:474:44
248.08:454:46
258.18:444:48
268.18:434:50
278.28:414:51
288.28:404:53
298.38:384:55
308.38:374:57
318.48:354:59

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.61 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.45 kWh/m² to a high of 4.93 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.61 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.5Dim
20.5Dim
30.5Dim
40.5Dim
50.5Dim
60.5Dim
70.5Dim
80.5Dim
90.5Dim
100.5Dim
110.6Dim
120.6Dim
130.6Dim
140.6Dim
150.6Dim
160.6Dim
170.6Dim
180.6Dim
190.6Dim
200.7Dim
210.7Dim
220.7Dim
230.7Dim
240.7Dim
250.7Dim
260.8Dim
270.8Dim
280.8Dim
290.8Dim
300.8Dim
310.9Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Sligo?

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

0.9
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Sligo.

What to pack for Sligo in January

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

In January, Sligo sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 18 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Sligo 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 at the nearest coast (about 15 km away) is warmest in August at about 16°C and coldest in February 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
Aug16Cool
Sep15Bracing
Oct13Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Sligo 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 Sligo peaks around June 23 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 23UV 5Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug5Moderate
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Sligo?

Sligo sits at 54.3°N, 8.5°W, 13 m above sea level, in Ireland. The nearest listed city is Omagh, 84 km away.

OmaghLetterkennyAthloneLondonderry County BoroughDerryAn Muileann gCearrGalwayTullamore

Topography around Sligo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sligo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 120 m around an average of 27 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 660 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 805 m.

The land around Sligo is covered by grassland (56%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, grassland (66%) within 16 km, and grassland (64%) and water (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
120 m
16 km
660 m
80 km
805 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Omagh 84 km · Letterkenny 89 km · Athlone 100 km · Londonderry County Borough 110 km · Derry 110 km · An Muileann gCearr 111 km · Galway 117 km · Tullamore 128 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 Sligo (54.2697°, -8.4694°, elevation 13 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).