Whitehaven weather in January

In January, Whitehaven sees average daytime highs of 6°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 154 mm of precipitation across 18.4 wet days and about 7.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 4th-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 15% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 06 min at the start of January to 8 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Whitehaven's 10th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Whitehaven's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
154 mm
18.4 wet days
Daylight
7 h 36 min
8:36 AM – 4:11 PM
Cloud cover
73%
10th clearest
Wind
23 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.58 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.5
out of 10

Whitehaven is coastal town and port in Cumbria, England, United Kingdom.

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 Whitehaven reaches about 6°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 3°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 1°C cooler than December and on par with February.

-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
174
274
374
474
574
674
774
874
974
1074
1174
1274
1374
1464
1564
1664
1764
1864
1964
2064
2163
2263
2363
2463
2563
2663
2763
2863
2963
3063
3163

How January really feels in Whitehaven

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.

Whitehaven weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 15418.41.77.60.5
Feb / 12115.31.69.30.5
Mar / 10515.11.311.51.0
Apr10° / 8113.90.313.71.9
May13° / 8613.7015.83.1
Jun15° / 11°9614.6016.93.9
Jul17° / 13°11217016.44.3
Aug17° / 13°13518.1014.74.2
Sep15° / 11°13015.8012.53.8
Oct12° / 16618.1010.22.6
Nov / 16919.40.48.21.5
Dec / 16818.51.27.10.8

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 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23169
33169
43169
53169
63169
73169
83169
93169
103169
113169
123169
133070
143070
153169
163070
172971
182971
192971
202971
212971
222872
232773
242773
252872
262872
272773
282872
292872
302872
312872

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Whitehaven gets around 154 mm of rain and snow over 18.4 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 59% and peaks near 64% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1616
2616
3616
4626
5626
6636
7646
8646
9646
10646
11646
12646
13636
14636
15626
16626
17616
18606
19595
20585
21575
22565
23555
24555
25545
26545
27545
28535
29535
30535
31536

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 22 km/h on the calmest days to 24 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0102030151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
123breezy
224breezy
324breezy
424breezy
524breezy
624breezy
724breezy
824breezy
924breezy
1024breezy
1124breezy
1224breezy
1324breezy
1424breezy
1524breezy
1623breezy
1723breezy
1823breezy
1923breezy
2023breezy
2123breezy
2223breezy
2323breezy
2422breezy
2522breezy
2622breezy
2722breezy
2822breezy
2922breezy
3022breezy
3122breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 06 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 78 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:45 AM to 8:17 AM, and sunset from 3:50 PM to 4:38 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.18:453:50
27.18:453:51
37.18:443:52
47.28:443:54
57.28:443:55
67.28:433:56
77.28:433:57
87.38:423:59
97.38:424:00
107.38:414:01
117.48:414:03
127.48:404:04
137.48:394:06
147.58:384:08
157.58:374:09
167.68:364:11
177.68:354:12
187.78:344:14
197.78:334:16
207.88:324:18
217.88:314:19
227.98:304:21
237.98:294:23
248.08:274:25
258.08:264:27
268.18:254:29
278.18:234:31
288.28:224:33
298.28:204:34
308.38:194:36
318.48:174:38

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.58 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.44 kWh/m² to a high of 5.04 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.58 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
120.5Dim
130.5Dim
140.5Dim
150.6Dim
160.6Dim
170.6Dim
180.6Dim
190.6Dim
200.6Dim
210.6Dim
220.7Dim
230.7Dim
240.7Dim
250.7Dim
260.7Dim
270.8Dim
280.8Dim
290.8Dim
300.8Dim
310.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Whitehaven?

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

0.5
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Whitehaven.

What to pack for Whitehaven in January

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

In January, Whitehaven sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 18 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coata windbreaker

Sea temperature near Whitehaven 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 16°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
Mar7Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug16Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct14Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Whitehaven 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 Whitehaven peaks around May 23 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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowMay 23UV 5Dec 20UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug5High
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Whitehaven?

Whitehaven sits at 54.5°N, 3.6°W, 19 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Workington, 11 km away.

Morecambe

Topography around Whitehaven

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Whitehaven has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 161 m around an average of 55 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 639 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 961 m.

The land around Whitehaven is covered by water (36%) and grassland (32%) within 3 km, water (53%) and grassland (35%) within 16 km, and grassland (48%) and water (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
161 m
16 km
639 m
80 km
961 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Workington 11 km · Windermere 48 km · Barrow in Furness 54 km · Penrith 55 km · Carlisle 57 km · Dumfries 58 km · Kendal 59 km · Morecambe 71 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 Whitehaven (54.549°, -3.5841°, elevation 19 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).