Alta weather in January

In January, Alta sees average daytime highs of -7°C and overnight lows near -14°C, with 42 mm of precipitation across 9.8 wet days and about 0.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 7th-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 7% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 0 hours at the start of January to 3 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Alta's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Alta's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-7°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-14°
1st coldest
Precipitation
42 mm
9.8 wet days
Daylight
0 hours
— – —
Cloud cover
82%
9th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.01 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Alta is settlement in Alta Municipality, Norway.

Density
1,604/km²
people per km²
Founded
2000

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 Alta reaches about -7°C in the afternoon and slips back to -14°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -17°C and 1°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and on par with February.

-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-7-13
2-7-13
3-7-13
4-7-13
5-7-13
6-7-13
7-7-13
8-7-13
9-7-13
10-7-13
11-7-13
12-7-13
13-7-13
14-7-13
15-7-13
16-7-13
17-7-13
18-7-13
19-7-14
20-7-14
21-8-14
22-8-14
23-8-14
24-8-14
25-8-14
26-8-14
27-8-14
28-8-14
29-8-14
30-8-14
31-8-15

How January really feels in Alta

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
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Alta weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-7° / -14°429.811.50.70.0
Feb-7° / -13°359.410.86.30.0
Mar-3° / -10°3610.111.910.90.0
Apr / -6°3610.811.215.50.0
May / 50137.321.40.7
Jun12° / 7014.21.2242.6
Jul16° / 7513.7023.54.2
Aug14° / 6912.6017.83.7
Sep / 5812.31.512.91.8
Oct / -3°5712.88.48.30.0
Nov-3° / -8°409.69.52.40.0
Dec-5° / -11°401011.400.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 7% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 86%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11486
21387
31387
41387
51387
61387
71288
81288
91288
101288
111288
121288
131387
141387
151387
161486
171486
181486
191486
201585
211684
221684
231684
241684
251684
261783
271783
281783
291684
301684
311783

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Alta gets around 42 mm of rain and snow over 9.8 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 32% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days, and about 12 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13036
23036
33136
43137
53137
63137
73238
83238
93238
103239
113339
123339
133339
143339
153338
163238
173238
183238
193237
203237
213237
223237
233236
243136
253236
263237
273237
283237
293237
303238
313338

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 0 hours at the start of January to 3 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
110.0
120.0
130.0
140.0
150.0
160.0
170.0
180.0
190.0
200.0
210.0
220.0
230.611:2011:57
241.310:5912:18
251.810:4612:32
262.110:3512:43
272.510:2612:53
282.710:171:02
293.010:091:10
303.310:021:18
313.59:551:25

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.01 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0 kWh/m² to a high of 4.84 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.01 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.0Dim
20.0Dim
30.0Dim
40.0Dim
50.0Dim
60.0Dim
70.0Dim
80.0Dim
90.0Dim
100.0Dim
110.0Dim
120.0Dim
130.0Dim
140.0Dim
150.0Dim
160.0Dim
170.0Dim
180.0Dim
190.0Dim
200.0Dim
210.0Dim
220.0Dim
230.0Dim
240.0Dim
250.0Dim
260.0Dim
270.0Dim
280.1Dim
290.1Dim
300.1Dim
310.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Alta?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
6th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Alta.

What to pack for Alta in January

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

In January, Alta sees daytime highs around -7°C and nights near -14°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Alta in January

The nearest coast averages about 5°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 48 km away) is warmest in August at about 10°C and coldest in April near 3°C.

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

0°5°10°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan5Bracing
Feb4Bracing
Mar3Bracing
Apr3Bracing
May4Bracing
Jun7Bracing
Jul10Bracing
Aug10Bracing
Sep9Bracing
Oct8Bracing
Nov7Bracing
Dec6Bracing

UV index in Alta 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 Alta peaks around July 13 at about 4 (moderate) — 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 2 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 13UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Low
May3Moderate
Jun3Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep1Low
Oct0Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Alta?

Alta sits at 70.0°N, 23.3°E, 65 m above sea level, in Norway. The nearest listed city is Tromsdalen, 167 km away.

TromsdalenTromsoLeviKirunaNikelHarstadZapolyarnyyKovdor

Topography around Alta

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Alta has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 208 m around an average of 21 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 998 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,343 m.

The land around Alta is covered by water (39%) and trees (31%) within 3 km, trees (35%), grassland (26%) and water (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (41%), moss and lichen (23%) and water (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
208 m
16 km
998 m
80 km
1,343 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Tromsdalen 167 km · Tromso 169 km · Levi 248 km · Kiruna 265 km · Nikel 275 km · Harstad 294 km · Zapolyarnyy 297 km · Kovdor 394 km

Norway travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 91% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$94,594
2025
Happiness
7.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 613
Religion
Church of Norway 68%other Christian 4%Muslim 3%Roman Catholic 3%

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 Alta (69.9689°, 23.2717°, elevation 65 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).