Sendai weather in January

In January, Sendai sees average daytime highs of 4°C and overnight lows near -3°C, with 63 mm of precipitation across 10.9 wet days and about 9.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 4°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 24 min at the start of January to 10 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Sendai's 4th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sendai's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
-3°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
63 mm
10.9 wet days
Daylight
9 h 36 min
6:57 AM – 4:34 PM
Cloud cover
61%
4th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
2.49 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Sendai is city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7 µg/m³ · 2010
Density
1,395/km²
people per km²
Founded
1889

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 4°C through the month.

A typical January day in Sendai reaches about 4°C in the afternoon and slips back to -3°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 0°C and 7°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°C cooler than December and about 1°C cooler than February.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
14-2
24-2
34-2
44-2
54-2
64-2
74-2
84-2
94-2
104-3
114-3
124-3
134-3
144-3
153-3
163-3
173-3
183-3
193-3
203-3
213-3
223-3
233-3
243-3
253-3
263-3
273-3
283-3
293-3
303-3
314-3

How January really feels in Sendai

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.

Sendai weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -3°6310.99.99.60.0
Feb / -3°499.27.710.50.0
Mar / -0°8711.65.411.71.4
Apr14° / 9411.21.1134.0
May19° / 11°10311.40145.8
Jun22° / 16°12913.4014.65.8
Jul26° / 20°18717.4014.45.3
Aug27° / 21°16916.2013.55.4
Sep24° / 17°16714.3012.35.8
Oct18° / 11°141110115.6
Nov12° / 639.30.99.93.3
Dec / -0°581169.40.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 29% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 49%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15545
25446
35446
45347
55347
65248
75248
85149
95149
105149
115050
125050
135050
145050
154951
164951
175050
185050
195050
205050
215050
225149
235149
245149
255149
265248
275248
285248
295248
305248
315248

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Sendai gets around 63 mm of rain and snow over 10.9 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 35% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days, and about 10 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13529
23530
33630
43631
53631
63631
73631
83632
93632
103631
113531
123531
133531
143431
153430
163430
173330
183330
193330
203330
213330
223430
233431
243431
253532
263532
273532
283533
293533
303533
313533

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 12 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
812calm
912calm
1012calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1412calm
1512calm
1612calm
1712calm
1812calm
1912calm
2012calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3112calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 24 min at the start of January to 10 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 6:58 AM to 6:50 AM, and sunset from 4:21 PM to 4:50 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.46:584:21
29.46:584:22
39.46:594:23
49.46:594:23
59.46:594:24
69.46:594:25
79.46:594:26
89.56:594:27
99.56:594:28
109.56:594:28
119.56:594:29
129.56:584:30
139.66:584:31
149.66:584:32
159.66:584:33
169.66:574:34
179.66:574:35
189.76:574:36
199.76:564:37
209.76:564:38
219.76:564:39
229.86:554:40
239.86:554:41
249.86:544:42
259.86:544:44
269.96:534:45
279.96:524:46
289.96:524:47
299.96:514:48
3010.06:504:49
3110.06:504:50

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.06 kWh/m² to a high of 5.34 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 2.49 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.3Moderate
22.3Moderate
32.3Moderate
42.3Moderate
52.3Moderate
62.3Moderate
72.3Moderate
82.3Moderate
92.3Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.3Moderate
122.4Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.4Moderate
162.4Moderate
172.4Moderate
182.5Moderate
192.5Moderate
202.5Moderate
212.5Moderate
222.6Moderate
232.6Moderate
242.6Moderate
252.7Moderate
262.7Moderate
272.7Moderate
282.8Moderate
292.8Moderate
302.8Moderate
312.9Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Sendai

In seasonPeak

In January, Sendai sits inside its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Sendai sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Sendai's rainy season runs March–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Pacific typhoon
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Sendai?

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
9th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Sendai.

What to pack for Sendai in January

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

In January, Sendai sees daytime highs around 4°C and nights near -3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Sendai in January

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 28 km away) is warmest in August at about 24°C and coldest in March near 9°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 7 to Oct 10 — about 3.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan11Bracing
Feb9Bracing
Mar9Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May14Bracing
Jun18Cool
Jul21Refreshing
Aug24Refreshing
Sep23Refreshing
Oct19Cool
Nov17Cool
Dec14Bracing

UV index in Sendai in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Sendai peaks around August 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateAug 16UV 9Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Sendai?

Sendai sits at 38.3°N, 140.9°E, 53 m above sea level, in Japan. The nearest listed city is Natori-shi, 11 km away.

Topography around Sendai

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sendai has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 173 m around an average of 67 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 513 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,978 m.

The land around Sendai is covered by artificial surfaces (74%) and trees (24%) within 3 km, trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 16 km, and trees (57%) and water (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
173 m
16 km
513 m
80 km
1,978 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Natori-shi 11 km · Rifu 12 km · Tagajō-shi 12 km · Tomiya 14 km · Shiogama 16 km · Shōbudahama 17 km · Iwanuma 18 km · Yoshioka 19 km

Japan travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
100 V · 50 / 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$35,951
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 446
Religion
Shintoism 49%Buddhism 46%other 4%Christianity 1%

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 Sendai (38.2667°, 140.8667°, elevation 53 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).