Lancaster weather in January

In January, Lancaster sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 117 mm of precipitation across 16.5 wet days and about 7.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 4th-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 12% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 12 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Lancaster's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lancaster's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
117 mm
16.5 wet days
Daylight
7 h 42 min
8:31 AM – 4:10 PM
Cloud cover
75%
10th clearest
Wind
20 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.61 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.6
out of 10

Lancaster is county town of Lancashire, England.

Density
4,347/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 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Lancaster reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 3°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)
173
273
373
473
573
673
773
873
973
1073
1173
1273
1373
1473
1573
1673
1773
1873
1973
2073
2173
2273
2373
2463
2563
2663
2763
2863
2963
3063
3163

How January really feels in Lancaster

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.

Lancaster weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 11716.51.47.70.6
Feb / 9714.41.49.40.7
Mar / 8613.71.111.51.4
Apr11° / 7112.80.313.72.6
May14° / 7613.3015.73.7
Jun16° / 11°8714.6016.84.5
Jul18° / 13°9616.2016.35.0
Aug18° / 13°11416.7014.64.8
Sep16° / 11°10214.5012.54.3
Oct13° / 12516.3010.23.0
Nov10° / 12517.10.38.31.6
Dec / 13416.90.97.20.8

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 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12674
22575
32575
42674
52674
62773
72773
82674
92773
102773
112773
122773
132674
142674
152674
162674
172674
182674
192575
202575
212575
222575
232575
242575
252575
262674
272674
282575
292575
302575
312575

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Lancaster gets around 117 mm of rain and snow over 16.5 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 53% and peaks near 57% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1545
2544
3554
4554
5554
6564
7564
8574
9574
10574
11574
12574
13574
14564
15554
16554
17545
18545
19535
20525
21515
22515
23505
24505
25495
26495
27495
28495
29496
30496
31506

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 19 km/h on the calmest days to 20 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
120light breeze
220light breeze
320light breeze
420light breeze
520light breeze
620light breeze
720breezy
820breezy
920breezy
1020breezy
1120breezy
1220light breeze
1320light breeze
1420light breeze
1520light breeze
1620light breeze
1720light breeze
1819light breeze
1919light breeze
2019light breeze
2119light breeze
2219light breeze
2319light breeze
2419light breeze
2519light breeze
2619light breeze
2719light breeze
2819light breeze
2919light breeze
3019light breeze
3119light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 12 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 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 8:12 AM, and sunset from 3:50 PM to 4:37 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.28:383:50
27.28:383:51
37.28:383:52
47.38:383:54
57.38:383:55
67.38:373:56
77.38:373:57
87.48:363:59
97.48:364:00
107.48:354:01
117.58:354:03
127.58:344:04
137.58:334:06
147.68:324:07
157.68:314:09
167.78:314:10
177.78:304:12
187.88:294:14
197.88:284:15
207.88:274:17
217.98:254:19
227.98:244:21
238.08:234:22
248.08:224:24
258.18:204:26
268.18:194:28
278.28:184:30
288.38:164:32
298.38:154:34
308.48:134:35
318.48:124:37

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.61 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.47 kWh/m² to a high of 5.13 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.61 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
120.6Dim
130.6Dim
140.6Dim
150.6Dim
160.6Dim
170.6Dim
180.6Dim
190.6Dim
200.7Dim
210.7Dim
220.7Dim
230.7Dim
240.7Dim
250.8Dim
260.8Dim
270.8Dim
280.8Dim
290.8Dim
300.9Dim
310.9Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Lancaster?

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

0.6
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 Lancaster.

What to pack for Lancaster in January

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

In January, Lancaster sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Lancaster 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 offshore is warmest in August at about 17°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°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug17Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct13Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec8Bracing

UV index in Lancaster 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 Lancaster peaks around August 11 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 21 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 11UV 6Dec 21UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug6High
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Lancaster?

Lancaster sits at 54.0°N, 2.8°W, 23 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Morecambe, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Lancaster

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lancaster has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 149 m around an average of 41 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 560 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 959 m.

The land around Lancaster is covered by grassland (46%), artificial surfaces (25%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and water (33%) within 16 km, and grassland (58%) and water (22%) within 80 km.

3 km
149 m
16 km
560 m
80 km
959 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
January weather nearby: Morecambe 5.0 km · Heysham 6.0 km · Fleetwood 19 km · Thornton-Cleveleys 24 km · Fylde 25 km · Poulton-le-Fylde 27 km · Barrow in Furness 29 km · Blackpool 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 Lancaster (54.0465°, -2.7999°, elevation 23 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).