Magadan weather in January

In January, Magadan sees average daytime highs of -15°C and overnight lows near -19°C, with 17 mm of precipitation across 4.6 wet days and about 6.5 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -14°C in the first days to -16°C by the end. 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 5 h 48 min at the start of January to 7 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Magadan's 11th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Magadan's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-15°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-19°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
17 mm
4.6 wet days
Daylight
6 h 30 min
8:52 AM – 3:20 PM
Cloud cover
82%
11th clearest
Wind
23 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0.5 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Magadan is city in northeastern Russia.

Density
315/km²
people per km²
Founded
1929

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -14°C in the first days to -16°C by the end.

A typical January day in Magadan reaches about -15°C in the afternoon and slips back to -19°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -22°C and -7°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°C cooler than December and on par with February.

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

How January really feels in Magadan

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.

Magadan weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-15° / -19°174.66.36.50.0
Feb-15° / -19°133.64.98.70.0
Mar-10° / -15°235.67.211.30.0
Apr-3° / -8°265.56.614.10.0
May / -1°416.84.516.70.0
Jun / 547.80.118.21.1
Jul12° / 728.7017.63.0
Aug13° / 11°10710.6015.33.5
Sep / 849.70.512.61.9
Oct / -1°649.65.99.80.0
Nov-7° / -10°548.49.87.30.0
Dec-13° / -16°235.67.55.80.0

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 5% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 88%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11387
21387
31387
41387
51387
61387
71288
81288
91189
101189
111189
121090
131090
141090
151090
161090
171090
181090
191090
201090
211189
221189
231189
241288
251288
261288
271486
281486
291486
301684
311684

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Magadan gets around 17 mm of rain and snow over 4.6 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 14% and peaks near 16% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11621
21622
31622
41622
51622
61622
71622
81622
91522
101521
111421
121420
131319
141319
151218
161218
171218
181218
191218
201318
211318
221318
231319
241419
251419
261419
271519
281519
291520
301519
311519

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 23 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 21 km/h on the calmest days to 25 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0102030151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
125breezy
225breezy
325breezy
425breezy
525breezy
625breezy
725breezy
824breezy
924breezy
1024breezy
1124breezy
1224breezy
1324breezy
1423breezy
1523breezy
1623breezy
1723breezy
1823breezy
1922breezy
2022breezy
2122breezy
2222breezy
2322breezy
2422breezy
2522breezy
2622breezy
2721breezy
2821breezy
2921breezy
3021breezy
3121breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 5 h 48 min at the start of January to 7 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 102 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:06 AM to 8:25 AM, and sunset from 2:54 PM to 3:55 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
15.89:062:54
25.89:062:55
35.99:052:57
45.99:052:58
55.99:042:59
66.09:033:01
76.09:033:03
86.09:023:04
96.19:013:06
106.19:003:08
116.28:593:10
126.28:583:12
136.38:563:14
146.38:553:16
156.48:543:18
166.58:523:20
176.58:513:22
186.68:493:24
196.68:483:26
206.78:463:29
216.88:453:31
226.88:433:33
236.98:413:35
247.08:393:38
257.08:373:40
267.18:363:43
277.28:343:45
287.38:323:47
297.38:303:50
307.48:273:52
317.58:253:55

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.5 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.29 kWh/m² to a high of 5.59 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.5 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.3Dim
20.3Dim
30.3Dim
40.3Dim
50.3Dim
60.4Dim
70.4Dim
80.4Dim
90.4Dim
100.4Dim
110.4Dim
120.4Dim
130.4Dim
140.5Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.5Dim
180.5Dim
190.5Dim
200.6Dim
210.6Dim
220.6Dim
230.6Dim
240.6Dim
250.7Dim
260.7Dim
270.7Dim
280.7Dim
290.8Dim
300.8Dim
310.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Magadan

In seasonPeak

None of Magadan's seasonal hazards are active in January. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Magadan's rainy season runs June–November, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is January a good time to visit Magadan?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Magadan.

What to pack for Magadan in January

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

In January, Magadan sees daytime highs around -15°C and nights near -19°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: a windbreaker. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coata windbreaker

Sea temperature near Magadan in January

The nearest coast averages about -1°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 19 km away) is warmest in August at about 13°C and coldest in February near -1°C.

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

0°5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan-1Bracing
Feb-1Bracing
Mar-1Bracing
Apr-1Bracing
May1Bracing
Jun6Bracing
Jul12Bracing
Aug13Bracing
Sep10Bracing
Oct5Bracing
Nov2Bracing
Dec0Bracing

UV index in Magadan 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 Magadan peaks around July 13 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 13UV 5Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar1Low
Apr3Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5High
Aug3Moderate
Sep2Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Magadan?

Magadan sits at 59.6°N, 150.8°E, 71 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Okha, 818 km away.

OkhaYelizovoPetropavlovsk-KamchatskyVilyuchinskNikolayevsk-on-AmureYakutskPoronayskKomsomolsk-on-Amur

Topography around Magadan

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Magadan has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 417 m around an average of 78 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 853 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,530 m.

The land around Magadan is covered by trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 3 km, trees (47%) and water (31%) within 16 km, and water (41%) and trees (32%) within 80 km.

3 km
417 m
16 km
853 m
80 km
1,530 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Okha 818 km · Yelizovo 847 km · Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 868 km · Vilyuchinsk 873 km · Nikolayevsk-on-Amure 944 km · Yakutsk 1,170 km · Poronaysk 1,252 km · Komsomolsk-on-Amur 1,327 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 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 Magadan (59.5627°, 150.8021°, elevation 71 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).