Wakefield weather in January

In January, Wakefield sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 60 mm of precipitation across 12.7 wet days and about 7.8 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 7th-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 14% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 18 min at the start of January to 8 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Wakefield's 8th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wakefield's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
60 mm
12.7 wet days
Daylight
7 h 42 min
8:23 AM – 4:07 PM
Cloud cover
74%
8th clearest
Wind
18 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.65 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.6
out of 10

Wakefield is city in West Yorkshire, England.

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 Wakefield reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°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 11°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)
162
272
372
472
572
672
772
872
973
1073
1173
1273
1372
1472
1572
1672
1772
1872
1972
2072
2172
2272
2372
2472
2572
2662
2762
2872
2972
3072
3172

How January really feels in Wakefield

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.

Wakefield weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6012.71.87.80.6
Feb / 5411.22.19.40.9
Mar / 5311.31.511.51.8
Apr12° / 5811.90.513.72.9
May15° / 5611.6015.64.2
Jun18° / 10°7112.2016.75.2
Jul20° / 12°6712.5016.35.8
Aug19° / 12°7212014.65.7
Sep17° / 10°6010.2012.55.1
Oct13° / 6412.1010.33.4
Nov / 6412.80.48.31.8
Dec / 6712.71.47.30.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 72%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
22872
32971
42971
52971
62872
72872
82872
92872
102872
112872
122872
132872
142872
152872
162872
172872
182872
192773
202773
212773
222773
232674
242674
252674
262674
272575
282575
292575
302575
312575

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Wakefield gets around 60 mm of rain and snow over 12.7 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 41% and peaks near 44% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1436
2436
3446
4446
5446
6446
7445
8445
9445
10445
11445
12445
13435
14435
15436
16426
17426
18416
19417
20407
21407
22397
23397
24387
25387
26377
27377
28377
29367
30367
31367

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 18 km/h on the calmest days to 18 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
118light breeze
218light breeze
318light breeze
418light breeze
518light breeze
618light breeze
718light breeze
818light breeze
918light breeze
1018light breeze
1118light breeze
1218light breeze
1318light breeze
1418light breeze
1518light breeze
1618light breeze
1718light breeze
1818light breeze
1918light breeze
2018light breeze
2118light breeze
2218light breeze
2318light breeze
2418light breeze
2518light breeze
2618light breeze
2718light breeze
2818light breeze
2918light breeze
3018light breeze
3118light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 18 min at the start of January to 8 h 30 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 8:31 AM to 8:05 AM, and sunset from 3:47 PM to 4:34 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.38:313:47
27.38:313:48
37.38:313:49
47.38:303:51
57.48:303:52
67.48:303:53
77.48:293:54
87.48:293:55
97.58:283:57
107.58:283:58
117.58:274:00
127.68:274:01
137.68:264:02
147.68:254:04
157.78:244:06
167.78:234:07
177.88:234:09
187.88:224:10
197.98:214:12
207.98:194:14
218.08:184:15
228.08:174:17
238.08:164:19
248.18:154:21
258.28:134:23
268.28:124:24
278.38:114:26
288.38:094:28
298.48:084:30
308.48:064:32
318.58:054:34

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.65 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.5 kWh/m² to a high of 4.79 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.65 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
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
120.6Dim
130.6Dim
140.6Dim
150.6Dim
160.6Dim
170.7Dim
180.7Dim
190.7Dim
200.7Dim
210.7Dim
220.7Dim
230.8Dim
240.8Dim
250.8Dim
260.8Dim
270.8Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
300.9Dim
310.9Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Wakefield?

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 Wakefield.

What to pack for Wakefield in January

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

In January, Wakefield sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Wakefield 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 Wakefield peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 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 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Wakefield?

Wakefield sits at 53.7°N, 1.5°W, 50 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Lofthouse, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Wakefield

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Wakefield has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 78 m around an average of 42 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 258 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 729 m.

The land around Wakefield is covered by artificial surfaces (38%), trees (30%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, trees (26%), grassland (26%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (47%) and cropland (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
78 m
16 km
258 m
80 km
729 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Lofthouse 5.0 km · Ossett 5.0 km · Dewsbury 9.0 km · Morley 9.0 km · Batley 9.0 km · Castleford 10 km · Darton 11 km · Heckmondwike 12 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 Wakefield (53.6833°, -1.4977°, elevation 50 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. 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).