Dover weather in January

In January, Dover sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 58 mm of precipitation across 12 wet days and about 8.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 5th-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 17% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Dover's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dover's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
58 mm
12 wet days
Daylight
8 h 06 min
8:00 AM – 4:08 PM
Cloud cover
72%
11th clearest
Wind
22 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.88 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.0
out of 10

Dover is town and major ferry port in Kent, South East 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 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Dover reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 3°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and on par with February.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
184
284
384
484
584
684
784
884
984
1084
1184
1284
1384
1484
1584
1684
1784
1874
1974
2074
2174
2274
2374
2474
2574
2674
2774
2874
2974
3074
3174

How January really feels in Dover

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.

Dover weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 58120.88.21.0
Feb / 461019.61.1
Mar / 419.80.411.52.0
Apr12° / 429.8013.53.1
May15° / 10°509.9015.34.4
Jun18° / 13°519.5016.25.7
Jul20° / 15°5310.6015.96.3
Aug21° / 15°5910014.46.3
Sep18° / 13°509.6012.45.7
Oct15° / 10°6811.6010.44.1
Nov11° / 6712.20.18.72.4
Dec / 66120.77.81.4

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13268
23268
33268
43169
53169
63169
73169
83169
93268
103268
113268
123268
133268
143268
153367
163367
173268
183268
193268
203169
213070
223070
233070
242971
252971
262872
272872
282872
292872
302872
312773

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Dover gets around 58 mm of rain and snow over 12 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 38% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1423
2424
3424
4424
5424
6414
7413
8413
9403
10403
11393
12393
13383
14382
15372
16372
17372
18362
19362
20362
21362
22362
23362
24362
25362
26362
27362
28362
29362
30362
31363

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 21 km/h on the calmest days to 23 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
122breezy
222breezy
322breezy
422breezy
522breezy
623breezy
723breezy
823breezy
923breezy
1023breezy
1123breezy
1222breezy
1322breezy
1422breezy
1522breezy
1622breezy
1722breezy
1822breezy
1922breezy
2022breezy
2122breezy
2222breezy
2322breezy
2421breezy
2521breezy
2621breezy
2721breezy
2821breezy
2921breezy
3021breezy
3121breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 42 min at the start of January to 8 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:06 AM to 7:44 AM, and sunset from 3:50 PM to 4:32 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.78:063:50
27.88:063:51
37.88:053:52
47.88:053:53
57.88:053:54
67.88:053:55
77.98:053:56
87.98:043:58
97.98:043:59
107.98:034:00
118.08:034:01
128.08:024:03
138.08:024:04
148.18:014:05
158.18:004:07
168.18:004:08
178.27:594:10
188.27:584:11
198.37:574:13
208.37:564:14
218.37:554:16
228.47:544:17
238.47:534:19
248.57:524:21
258.57:514:22
268.67:504:24
278.67:494:26
288.77:484:27
298.77:464:29
308.87:454:31
318.87:444:32

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.88 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.7 kWh/m² to a high of 6.03 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.88 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.8Dim
70.8Dim
80.8Dim
90.8Dim
100.8Dim
110.8Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.9Dim
170.9Dim
180.9Dim
190.9Dim
200.9Dim
210.9Dim
221.0Dim
231.0Dim
241.0Dim
251.0Dim
261.1Dim
271.1Dim
281.1Dim
291.1Dim
301.2Dim
311.2Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Dover?

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

1.0
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 Dover.

What to pack for Dover in January

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

In January, Dover sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain geara windbreaker

Sea temperature near Dover in January

The nearest coast averages about 9°C in January — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

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

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan9Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct16Cool
Nov13Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Dover 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 Dover peaks around June 22 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 22UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Dover?

Dover sits at 51.1°N, 1.3°E, 12 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Folkestone, 11 km away.

Topography around Dover

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dover has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 132 m around an average of 51 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 191 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 m.

The land around Dover is covered by water (35%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, water (56%) within 16 km, and water (55%) within 80 km.

3 km
132 m
16 km
191 m
80 km
292 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Folkestone 11 km · Deal 13 km · Canterbury 24 km · Ramsgate 24 km · Broadstairs 27 km · Saint Peters 28 km · Margate 29 km · Herne Bay 30 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 Dover (51.126°, 1.3126°, elevation 12 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).