Penzance weather in January

In January, Penzance sees average daytime highs of 10°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 97 mm of rain across 15.6 wet days and about 8.3 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 10°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 54 min at the start of January to 8 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Penzance's 12th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Penzance's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10°
10th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Rainfall
97 mm
15.6 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
8:23 AM – 4:40 PM
Cloud cover
75%
12th clearest
Wind
31 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.92 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.8
out of 10

Penzance is town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, UK.

Density
1,538/km²
people per km²
Founded
1318

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 10°C through the month.

A typical January day in Penzance reaches about 10°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 2°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 7°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and on par with February.

10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1108
2108
3108
4108
5108
6108
7108
8108
9108
10108
11108
12108
13108
14108
15108
16108
17108
18108
19108
20108
21108
22107
23107
24107
25107
26107
2797
2897
2997
3097
3197

Penzance weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 10th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan10° / 9715.68.31.8
Feb / 7312.39.71.7
Mar10° / 6312.211.52.0
Apr11° / 5711.213.52.6
May13° / 11°549.915.23.6
Jun15° / 13°509.216.14.7
Jul17° / 15°549.115.75.6
Aug18° / 16°6310.514.35.6
Sep16° / 14°5710.212.45.1
Oct14° / 12°941410.53.8
Nov12° / 10°10415.98.82.7
Dec11° / 10416.47.92.1

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 72%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12476
22476
32674
42674
52773
62773
72773
82872
92872
102872
113070
123070
133070
143070
153169
163070
173070
183070
192971
202872
212872
222773
232773
242773
252674
262674
272575
282476
292476
302575
312674

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Penzance gets around 97 mm of rain over 15.6 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 51% and peaks near 54% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
153
253
353
453
553
653
753
853
953
1053
1153
1254
1354
1454
1553
1653
1752
1852
1951
2051
2150
2249
2348
2447
2547
2646
2745
2845
2944
3044
3144

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 31 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 30 km/h on the calmest days to 32 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0102030151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
132windy
232windy
332windy
432windy
532windy
632windy
732windy
832windy
932windy
1032windy
1131windy
1231windy
1331windy
1431windy
1531windy
1631windy
1731windy
1830windy
1930windy
2030windy
2130windy
2230windy
2330windy
2430windy
2530windy
2630windy
2730windy
2830windy
2930windy
3030windy
3130windy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 54 min at the start of January to 8 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:28 AM to 8:08 AM, and sunset from 4:23 PM to 5:03 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.98:284:23
27.98:284:23
37.98:284:24
48.08:284:25
58.08:284:27
68.08:274:28
78.08:274:29
88.08:274:30
98.18:274:31
108.18:264:32
118.18:264:33
128.28:254:35
138.28:254:36
148.28:244:37
158.38:234:39
168.38:234:40
178.38:224:42
188.48:214:43
198.48:204:44
208.48:204:46
218.58:194:47
228.58:184:49
238.68:174:51
248.68:164:52
258.68:154:54
268.78:144:55
278.78:124:57
288.88:114:58
298.88:105:00
308.98:095:02
318.98:085:03

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.92 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.75 kWh/m² to a high of 5.8 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.92 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.8Dim
20.8Dim
30.8Dim
40.8Dim
50.8Dim
60.8Dim
70.8Dim
80.8Dim
90.8Dim
100.8Dim
110.8Dim
120.9Dim
130.9Dim
140.9Dim
150.9Dim
160.9Dim
170.9Dim
180.9Dim
191.0Dim
201.0Dim
211.0Dim
221.0Dim
231.0Dim
241.1Dim
251.1Dim
261.1Dim
271.1Dim
281.1Dim
291.2Dim
301.2Dim
311.2Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Penzance?

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

1.8
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Penzance.

What to pack for Penzance in January

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

In January, Penzance sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 8°C. Pack a warm layer, rain gear and a windbreaker. About 16 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara windbreaker

Sea temperature near Penzance in January

The nearest coast averages about 10°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 March near 10°C.

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

10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan10Bracing
Feb10Bracing
Mar10Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug17Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct14Bracing
Nov13Bracing
Dec12Bracing

UV index in Penzance 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 Penzance peaks around August 14 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 14UV 7Jan 11UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug7High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Penzance?

Penzance sits at 50.1°N, 5.5°W, 32 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Camborne, 20 km away.

Saltash

Topography around Penzance

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Penzance has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 138 m around an average of 45 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 248 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 362 m.

The land around Penzance is covered by water (35%), grassland (23%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, water (59%) and grassland (23%) within 16 km, and water (81%) within 80 km.

3 km
138 m
16 km
248 m
80 km
362 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Camborne 20 km · Redruth 26 km · Falmouth 33 km · Truro 38 km · Newquay 47 km · St Austell 60 km · Bodmin 70 km · Saltash 99 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 Penzance (50.1186°, -5.5371°, elevation 32 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).