Peterhead weather in January

In January, Peterhead sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 64 mm of precipitation across 14.8 wet days and about 7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-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 15% 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 Peterhead's 5th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Peterhead's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
64 mm
14.8 wet days
Daylight
7 hours
8:47 AM – 3:45 PM
Cloud cover
70%
5th clearest
Wind
27 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.5 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.8
out of 10

Peterhead is town in Aberdeenshire, 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 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Peterhead 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 4°C and 10°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
174
274
374
474
574
674
774
874
974
1074
1174
1274
1374
1474
1574
1674
1774
1874
1974
2074
2174
2274
2374
2474
2574
2674
2774
2874
2974
3074
3174

How January really feels in Peterhead

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.

Peterhead weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6414.81.170.8
Feb / 5512.31.890.7
Mar / 5613.61.511.41.1
Apr / 4811.80.313.91.7
May11° / 4611.2016.22.6
Jun13° / 10°5711.8017.63.5
Jul16° / 12°6012.10174.4
Aug16° / 12°6712.90154.5
Sep14° / 11°6011.9012.53.9
Oct12° / 8715.90102.7
Nov10° / 8016.10.37.71.7
Dec / 7014.91.16.41.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 68%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13169
23268
33268
43268
53268
63466
73466
83466
93466
103466
113466
123466
133466
143466
153367
163367
173367
183169
193169
203169
213169
223169
233169
243070
253070
263169
273169
283070
293070
303169
313169

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Peterhead gets around 64 mm of rain and snow over 14.8 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 47% and peaks near 48% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1484
2484
3484
4483
5483
6483
7483
8482
9472
10472
11472
12462
13462
14462
15472
16472
17472
18473
19483
20483
21484
22484
23484
24485
25485
26485
27485
28486
29476
30476
31476

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 26 km/h on the calmest days to 27 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0102030151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
126breezy
226breezy
326breezy
427breezy
527breezy
627breezy
727breezy
827breezy
927breezy
1027breezy
1127breezy
1227breezy
1327breezy
1427breezy
1527breezy
1627breezy
1727breezy
1827breezy
1927breezy
2027breezy
2127breezy
2226breezy
2326breezy
2426breezy
2526breezy
2626breezy
2726breezy
2826breezy
2926breezy
3026breezy
3126breezy

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 8:58 AM to 8:24 AM, and sunset from 3:22 PM to 4:17 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.48:583:22
26.48:583:23
36.48:583:25
46.58:573:26
56.58:573:27
66.58:563:29
76.68:563:30
86.68:553:32
96.68:543:33
106.78:543:35
116.78:533:36
126.88:523:38
136.88:513:40
146.98:503:42
156.98:493:44
167.08:473:45
177.08:463:47
187.18:453:49
197.18:443:51
207.28:423:53
217.28:413:55
227.38:393:57
237.48:383:59
247.48:364:02
257.58:354:04
267.58:334:06
277.68:314:08
287.78:294:10
297.78:284:12
307.88:264:15
317.98:244:17

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.5 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.33 kWh/m² to a high of 5.44 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.5 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.3Dim
20.3Dim
30.4Dim
40.4Dim
50.4Dim
60.4Dim
70.4Dim
80.4Dim
90.4Dim
100.4Dim
110.4Dim
120.4Dim
130.5Dim
140.5Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.5Dim
180.5Dim
190.5Dim
200.5Dim
210.6Dim
220.6Dim
230.6Dim
240.6Dim
250.6Dim
260.7Dim
270.7Dim
280.7Dim
290.7Dim
300.7Dim
310.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Peterhead?

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

0.8
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Peterhead.

What to pack for Peterhead in January

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

In January, Peterhead sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coata windbreaker

Sea temperature near Peterhead 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 14 km away) is warmest in August at about 13°C and coldest in March near 7°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
Feb7Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May9Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul13Bracing
Aug13Bracing
Sep13Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Peterhead 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 Peterhead peaks around July 13 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 20 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 13UV 5Dec 20UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Peterhead?

Peterhead sits at 57.5°N, 1.8°W, 11 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Aberdeen, 44 km away.

ElginArbroathDundeeSaint AndrewsInvernessPerth

Topography around Peterhead

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Peterhead has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 58 m around an average of 11 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 704 m.

The land around Peterhead is covered by water (57%) within 3 km, water (59%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and water (48%) and grassland (25%) within 80 km.

3 km
58 m
16 km
157 m
80 km
704 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Aberdeen 44 km · Nigg 47 km · Elgin 93 km · Arbroath 115 km · Dundee 136 km · Saint Andrews 144 km · Inverness 146 km · Perth 159 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 Peterhead (57.5052°, -1.7844°, elevation 11 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).