Inverness weather in January

In January, Inverness sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 91 mm of precipitation across 15.7 wet days and about 7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 1st-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 5% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 6 h 24 min at the start of January to 7 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Inverness's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Inverness's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
91 mm
15.7 wet days
Daylight
7 hours
8:57 AM – 3:55 PM
Cloud cover
82%
12th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.41 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.2
out of 10

Inverness is city in the Highlands of Scotland, United Kingdom.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
2,309/km²
people per km²

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 Inverness reaches about 6°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°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)
151
251
351
451
551
651
751
851
961
1061
1161
1261
1361
1461
1562
1662
1762
1862
1962
2062
2162
2261
2361
2461
2561
2661
2761
2861
2961
3061
3161

How January really feels in Inverness

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.

Inverness 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 / 9115.74.570.2
Feb / 7414590.4
Mar / 7214.53.411.41.2
Apr11° / 6514.31.813.92.2
May13° / 7014.60.216.23.3
Jun16° / 7314.9017.64.0
Jul18° / 11°7214.50174.8
Aug17° / 11°8115.20154.7
Sep15° / 7013012.54.0
Oct11° / 8815.10.1102.5
Nov / 7714.51.37.71.2
Dec / 8414.63.66.40.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 85%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11486
21486
31486
41585
51585
61585
71585
81585
91585
101585
111585
121585
131585
141585
151585
161585
171585
181585
191585
201585
211585
221684
231684
241684
251684
261684
271783
281783
291783
301783
311882

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Inverness gets around 91 mm of rain and snow over 15.7 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 50% and peaks near 52% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14915
24915
35015
45015
55115
65115
75115
85115
95115
105116
115116
125116
135116
145015
155015
165015
175015
185015
195014
205014
215014
225014
235014
245014
255014
265014
275115
285115
295116
305216
315216

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
114light breeze
214light breeze
314light breeze
414light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
714light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 24 min at the start of January to 7 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 9:08 AM to 8:34 AM, and sunset from 3:32 PM to 4:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.49:083:32
26.49:083:33
36.59:073:35
46.59:073:36
56.59:063:37
66.59:063:39
76.69:053:40
86.69:053:42
96.79:043:43
106.79:033:45
116.79:023:46
126.89:013:48
136.89:003:50
146.98:593:52
156.98:583:53
167.08:573:55
177.08:563:57
187.18:553:59
197.18:534:01
207.28:524:03
217.28:504:05
227.38:494:07
237.48:474:09
247.48:464:11
257.58:444:14
267.68:434:16
277.68:414:18
287.78:394:20
297.88:374:22
307.88:354:25
317.98:344:27

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 0.27 kWh/m² to a high of 4.59 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
260.5Dim
270.6Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.7Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Inverness?

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

0.2
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Inverness.

What to pack for Inverness in January

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

In January, Inverness sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 16 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Inverness 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 26 km away) is warmest in August at about 14°C and coldest in February 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
Feb6Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul14Bracing
Aug14Bracing
Sep13Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov10Bracing
Dec8Bracing

UV index in Inverness 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 Inverness peaks around July 11 at about 5 (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 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 11UV 5Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Inverness?

Inverness sits at 57.5°N, 4.2°W, 15 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Elgin, 57 km away.

Fort WilliamPerthAberdeenNiggDundeeArbroathPeterhead

Topography around Inverness

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Inverness has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 171 m around an average of 24 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 614 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,309 m.

The land around Inverness is covered by artificial surfaces (29%), water (26%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, grassland (44%) and trees (29%) within 16 km, and grassland (69%) within 80 km.

3 km
171 m
16 km
614 m
80 km
1,309 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Elgin 57 km · Fort William 91 km · Perth 130 km · Aberdeen 133 km · Nigg 134 km · Dundee 135 km · Arbroath 142 km · Peterhead 146 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 Inverness (57.4791°, -4.224°, elevation 15 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).