Grindelwald weather in January

In January, Grindelwald sees average daytime highs of -7°C and overnight lows near -13°C, with 148 mm of precipitation across 13.9 wet days and about 8.8 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 27% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Grindelwald's 7th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Grindelwald's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-7°
12th warmest
Overnight low
-13°
1st coldest
Precipitation
148 mm
13.9 wet days
Daylight
8 h 48 min
8:15 AM – 5:00 PM
Cloud cover
66%
7th clearest
Wind
4 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
1.74 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

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 Grindelwald reaches about -7°C in the afternoon and slips back to -13°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -12°C and -2°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and about 2°C cooler than February.

-20°-15°-10°-5°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
19-7-13
20-7-13
21-7-13
22-7-13
23-7-13
24-7-13
25-7-13
26-7-13
27-7-13
28-7-13
29-7-13
30-7-13
31-7-13

How January really feels in Grindelwald

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.

Grindelwald 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° / -13°14813.915.18.80.0
Feb-5° / -12°12112.613.5100.0
Mar-2° / -9°12715.116.211.60.0
Apr / -5°12314.81513.30.0
May / -1°15718.711.814.80.5
Jun12° / 16219.95.315.62.3
Jul14° / 18421.6215.33.1
Aug14° / 17519.92143.0
Sep10° / 12814.85.712.41.8
Oct / -3°13012.79.310.60.3
Nov-2° / -8°15214.7159.20.0
Dec-6° / -12°14914.6168.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 27% 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 63%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23367
33367
43367
53466
63565
73664
83664
93763
103763
113862
123961
133961
143961
153961
164060
174159
184060
194060
203961
214060
224060
233961
243961
253961
263862
273862
283763
293862
303763
313763

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Grindelwald gets around 148 mm of rain and snow over 13.9 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 44% and peaks near 48% on the wettest days, and about 15 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14853
24853
34853
44753
54752
64752
74651
84550
94549
104448
114448
124447
134347
144347
154347
164347
174346
184346
194346
204346
214347
224347
234447
244447
254447
264447
274447
284447
294447
304447
314447

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 4 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 4 km/h on the calmest days to 4 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
14calm
24calm
34calm
44calm
54calm
64calm
74calm
84calm
94calm
104calm
114calm
124calm
134calm
144calm
154calm
164calm
174calm
184calm
194calm
204calm
214calm
224calm
234calm
244calm
254calm
264calm
274calm
284calm
294calm
304calm
314calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:18 AM to 8:02 AM, and sunset from 4:44 PM to 5:20 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.48:184:44
28.48:184:45
38.58:184:45
48.58:184:46
58.58:184:47
68.58:184:48
78.58:184:49
88.58:184:50
98.68:184:51
108.68:174:53
118.68:174:54
128.68:174:55
138.78:164:56
148.78:164:57
158.78:154:58
168.88:155:00
178.88:145:01
188.88:135:02
198.88:135:03
208.98:125:05
218.98:115:06
228.98:115:07
239.08:105:09
249.08:095:10
259.18:085:12
269.18:075:13
279.18:065:14
289.28:055:16
299.28:045:17
309.38:035:19
319.38:025:20

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.74 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.42 kWh/m² to a high of 6.05 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 1.74 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.5Dim
21.5Dim
31.5Dim
41.5Dim
51.5Dim
61.5Dim
71.5Dim
81.6Dim
91.6Dim
101.6Dim
111.6Dim
121.6Dim
131.7Dim
141.7Dim
151.7Dim
161.7Dim
171.8Dim
181.8Dim
191.8Dim
201.8Dim
211.9Dim
221.9Dim
231.9Dim
241.9Dim
252.0Dim
262.0Moderate
272.0Moderate
282.1Moderate
292.1Moderate
302.1Moderate
312.2Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Grindelwald?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
7th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Grindelwald.

What to pack for Grindelwald in January

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

In January, Grindelwald sees daytime highs around -7°C and nights near -13°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Grindelwald 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 Grindelwald peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. 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 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 9Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Grindelwald?

Grindelwald sits at 46.6°N, 8.0°E, 0 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Lauterbrunnen, 10 km away.

ThunSteffisburgKriensLittauLucerneSierre

Topography around Grindelwald

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Grindelwald has very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,970 m around an average of 1,409 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,525 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,318 m.

The land around Grindelwald is covered by grassland (46%) and trees (45%) within 3 km, grassland (30%), snow and ice (26%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and trees (39%) and grassland (37%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,970 m
16 km
3,525 m
80 km
4,318 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Lauterbrunnen 10 km · Interlaken 15 km · Thun 35 km · Steffisburg 35 km · Kriens 49 km · Littau 50 km · Lucerne 52 km · Sierre 53 km

Switzerland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / J
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 112% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$114,769
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 564
Religion
Roman Catholic 34%none 29%Protestant 23%other Christian 6%

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 Grindelwald (46.624°, 8.036°, elevation 0 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).