Fort William weather in January

In January, Fort William sees average daytime highs of 4°C and overnight lows near 0°C, with 224 mm of precipitation across 19.5 wet days and about 7.2 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 4°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 6 h 36 min at the start of January to 8 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Fort William's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort William's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
224 mm
19.5 wet days
Daylight
7 h 06 min
8:56 AM – 4:03 PM
Cloud cover
89%
12th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.41 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Fort William is town in Highland, Scotland, UK.

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 4°C through the month.

A typical January day in Fort William reaches about 4°C in the afternoon and slips back to 0°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 1°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
140
240
340
440
540
640
740
840
940
1040
1140
1240
1340
1440
1540
1640
1740
1840
1940
2040
2140
2240
2340
2440
2540
2640
2740
2840
2940
3040
3140

How January really feels in Fort William

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.

Fort William weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 22419.510.87.20.0
Feb / 18117.59.89.10.0
Mar / 16617.97.611.40.6
Apr10° / 11316.42.813.91.7
May13° / 12216.90.416.12.8
Jun15° / 11817.4017.43.4
Jul16° / 10°12919.4016.93.7
Aug16° / 10°14519.5014.93.7
Sep14° / 15117012.53.1
Oct10° / 18618.90.5101.8
Nov / 17518.73.27.80.7
Dec / 20518.486.60.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 5% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 92%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1892
2892
3892
4892
5793
6793
7793
8793
9892
10892
11892
12793
13793
14793
15793
16793
17793
18892
19892
20892
21892
22991
23991
24991
25991
26991
27991
281090
291090
301090
311090

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Fort William gets around 224 mm of rain and snow over 19.5 wet days in January, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 63% and peaks near 66% on the wettest days, and about 11 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
16131
26131
36232
46232
56333
66433
76434
86534
96535
106635
116635
126636
136636
146636
156637
166637
176637
186537
196536
206436
216336
226335
236235
246135
256135
266135
276135
286135
296135
306135
316135

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312light breeze
412light breeze
512light breeze
612light breeze
712light breeze
812light breeze
912light breeze
1012light breeze
1112light breeze
1212light breeze
1312light breeze
1412light breeze
1512light breeze
1612light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2012light breeze
2112light breeze
2212light breeze
2312light breeze
2412light breeze
2512light breeze
2612light breeze
2712light breeze
2812light breeze
2912light breeze
3012light breeze
3112light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 36 min at the start of January to 8 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:06 AM to 8:34 AM, and sunset from 3:41 PM to 4:34 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.69:063:41
26.69:063:42
36.69:063:43
46.69:053:44
56.79:053:46
66.79:053:47
76.79:043:49
86.89:033:50
96.89:033:51
106.99:023:53
116.99:013:55
126.99:003:56
137.08:593:58
147.08:584:00
157.18:574:02
167.18:564:03
177.28:554:05
187.28:544:07
197.38:534:09
207.38:514:11
217.48:504:13
227.48:484:15
237.58:474:17
247.68:454:19
257.68:444:21
267.78:424:23
277.78:414:25
287.88:394:27
297.98:374:29
307.98:364:32
318.08:344:34

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.41 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.29 kWh/m² to a high of 4.43 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.41 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.3Dim
20.3Dim
30.3Dim
40.3Dim
50.3Dim
60.3Dim
70.3Dim
80.3Dim
90.3Dim
100.3Dim
110.3Dim
120.4Dim
130.4Dim
140.4Dim
150.4Dim
160.4Dim
170.4Dim
180.4Dim
190.4Dim
200.5Dim
210.5Dim
220.5Dim
230.5Dim
240.5Dim
250.5Dim
260.6Dim
270.6Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.7Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Fort William?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fort William.

What to pack for Fort William in January

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

In January, Fort William sees daytime highs around 4°C and nights near 0°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 20 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Fort William in January

The nearest coast averages about 8°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 47 km away) is warmest in August at about 14°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

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

6°8°10°12°14°16°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul13Bracing
Aug14Bracing
Sep14Bracing
Oct13Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Fort William 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 Fort William peaks around July 11 at about 5 (high) — 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 11UV 5Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Fort William?

Fort William sits at 56.8°N, 5.1°W, 24 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Inverness, 91 km away.

InvernessGreenockVale of LevenDumbartonStirlingErskineClydebankBearsden

Topography around Fort William

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort William has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 521 m around an average of 97 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,341 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m.

The land around Fort William is covered by grassland (48%), trees (23%) and water (21%) within 3 km, grassland (69%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) within 80 km.

3 km
521 m
16 km
1,341 m
80 km
1,339 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Inverness 91 km · Greenock 99 km · Vale of Leven 100 km · Dumbarton 103 km · Stirling 106 km · Erskine 110 km · Clydebank 111 km · Bearsden 111 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 Fort William (56.8165°, -5.1121°, elevation 24 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).