Bishop Auckland weather in January

In January, Bishop Auckland sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 64 mm of precipitation across 13.6 wet days and about 7.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 6°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 06 min at the start of January to 8 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Bishop Auckland's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Bishop Auckland's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
64 mm
13.6 wet days
Daylight
7 h 36 min
8:29 AM – 4:03 PM
Cloud cover
74%
9th clearest
Wind
18 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.59 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.4
out of 10

Bishop Auckland is town and civil parish in County Durham, England.

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 6°C through the month.

A typical January day in Bishop Auckland reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°C and 10°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)
162
262
362
462
562
662
762
862
962
1062
1162
1262
1362
1462
1562
1662
1762
1862
1962
2062
2162
2262
2362
2462
2562
2662
2762
2862
2962
3062
3162

How January really feels in Bishop Auckland

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.

Bishop Auckland weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6413.63.37.60.4
Feb / 58123.29.30.6
Mar / 5312.12.311.51.4
Apr11° / 5912.40.813.72.4
May14° / 5712.9015.83.5
Jun16° / 10°7313016.94.6
Jul19° / 11°7313.4016.55.4
Aug18° / 11°7513.4014.75.3
Sep16° / 6210.6012.54.6
Oct12° / 6412.30.110.23.0
Nov / 70130.98.21.5
Dec / 7213.72.37.10.5

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 72%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12773
22674
32674
42773
52773
62773
72674
82872
92872
102872
112872
122971
132971
142971
153070
162971
172971
182971
192872
202872
212872
222872
232872
242872
252971
262971
272971
282971
292872
302773
312773

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Bishop Auckland gets around 64 mm of rain and snow over 13.6 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 44% and peaks near 46% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14611
24611
34612
44612
54612
64612
74611
84611
94611
104611
114610
124610
134610
144610
154510
164510
174510
184410
194410
204310
214310
224210
234210
244210
254110
264110
274110
284010
294010
304010
314010

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 18 km/h on the calmest days to 19 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
118light breeze
218light breeze
318light breeze
418light breeze
518light breeze
619light breeze
719light breeze
819light breeze
919light breeze
1019light breeze
1119light breeze
1219light breeze
1319light breeze
1419light breeze
1519light breeze
1618light breeze
1718light breeze
1818light breeze
1918light breeze
2018light breeze
2118light breeze
2218light breeze
2318light breeze
2418light breeze
2518light breeze
2618light breeze
2718light breeze
2818light breeze
2918light breeze
3018light breeze
3118light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 06 min at the start of January to 8 h 18 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 8:38 AM to 8:10 AM, and sunset from 3:42 PM to 4:30 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.18:383:42
27.18:383:43
37.18:373:44
47.18:373:45
57.28:373:47
67.28:363:48
77.28:363:49
87.38:353:50
97.38:353:52
107.38:343:53
117.48:343:55
127.48:333:56
137.48:323:58
147.58:313:59
157.58:304:01
167.68:294:03
177.68:284:04
187.68:274:06
197.78:264:08
207.78:254:09
217.88:244:11
227.88:234:13
237.98:224:15
247.98:204:17
258.08:194:19
268.18:174:21
278.18:164:22
288.28:154:24
298.28:134:26
308.38:114:28
318.38:104:30

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.59 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.44 kWh/m² to a high of 4.89 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.59 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
110.5Dim
120.5Dim
130.5Dim
140.6Dim
150.6Dim
160.6Dim
170.6Dim
180.6Dim
190.6Dim
200.6Dim
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 Bishop Auckland?

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

0.4
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Bishop Auckland.

What to pack for Bishop Auckland in January

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

In January, Bishop Auckland sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Bishop Auckland in January

The nearest coast averages about 7°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 31 km away) is warmest in August at about 15°C and coldest in March near 6°C.

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

5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb7Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May9Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul14Bracing
Aug15Bracing
Sep13Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov10Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Bishop Auckland 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 Bishop Auckland peaks around August 10 at about 6 (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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 10UV 6Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Bishop Auckland?

Bishop Auckland sits at 54.7°N, 1.7°W, 110 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Spennymoor, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Bishop Auckland

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Bishop Auckland has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 126 m around an average of 114 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 342 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 906 m.

The land around Bishop Auckland is covered by grassland (45%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, grassland (46%) and cropland (29%) within 16 km, and grassland (57%) within 80 km.

3 km
126 m
16 km
342 m
80 km
906 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Spennymoor 7.0 km · Newton Aycliffe 8.0 km · Durham 15 km · Darlington 17 km · Chester-le-Street 24 km · Stanley 24 km · Consett 24 km · Houghton-Le-Spring 25 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 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 Bishop Auckland (54.6555°, -1.6771°, elevation 110 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).