Witham weather in January

In January, Witham sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 53 mm of precipitation across 11.6 wet days and about 8.1 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-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 7 h 36 min at the start of January to 8 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Witham's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Witham's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
53 mm
11.6 wet days
Daylight
8 hours
8:06 AM – 4:08 PM
Cloud cover
72%
11th clearest
Wind
21 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.81 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.0
out of 10

Witham is town in Braintree, Essex, 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 7°C through the month.

A typical January day in Witham 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 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)
174
274
374
474
574
674
774
874
974
1074
1174
1274
1374
1474
1574
1674
1774
1873
1973
2073
2173
2273
2373
2473
2573
2673
2773
2873
2973
3073
3173

How January really feels in Witham

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.

Witham weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5311.60.78.11.0
Feb / 439.319.61.1
Mar10° / 399.80.511.52.0
Apr12° / 4110013.63.2
May15° / 489.2015.44.6
Jun18° / 12°4910016.45.7
Jul21° / 14°5110.60166.3
Aug21° / 15°569.5014.46.3
Sep18° / 12°469.3012.45.8
Oct14° / 10°5910.8010.44.1
Nov10° / 58110.28.62.3
Dec / 5911.30.87.61.2

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 15% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23070
33070
43070
53169
63169
73169
83169
93169
103169
113169
123169
133268
143268
153268
163169
173169
183169
193169
203169
213169
223169
233070
242971
252872
262872
272971
282872
292872
302971
312971

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Witham gets around 53 mm of rain and snow over 11.6 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 37% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1393
2393
3393
4393
5393
6393
7393
8393
9393
10393
11383
12382
13382
14382
15382
16372
17372
18372
19372
20372
21362
22362
23362
24362
25352
26353
27343
28343
29343
30343
31334

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 20 km/h on the calmest days to 21 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
121breezy
221breezy
321breezy
421breezy
521breezy
621breezy
721breezy
821breezy
921breezy
1021breezy
1121breezy
1221breezy
1321breezy
1421breezy
1521breezy
1621breezy
1721breezy
1821breezy
1920breezy
2020breezy
2120breezy
2220breezy
2320breezy
2420breezy
2520breezy
2620breezy
2720breezy
2820breezy
2920breezy
3020breezy
3120breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 36 min at the start of January to 8 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:12 AM to 7:49 AM, and sunset from 3:49 PM to 4:33 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.68:123:49
27.68:123:50
37.78:123:51
47.78:113:52
57.78:113:53
67.78:113:55
77.88:113:56
87.88:103:57
97.88:103:58
107.88:094:00
117.98:094:01
127.98:084:02
137.98:084:04
148.08:074:05
158.08:064:06
168.08:064:08
178.18:054:09
188.18:044:11
198.28:034:12
208.28:024:14
218.28:014:16
228.38:004:17
238.37:594:19
248.47:584:21
258.47:574:22
268.57:554:24
278.57:544:26
288.67:534:27
298.67:524:29
308.77:504:31
318.77:494:33

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.81 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.66 kWh/m² to a high of 5.59 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 0.81 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.7Dim
80.7Dim
90.7Dim
100.7Dim
110.7Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.8Dim
190.8Dim
200.9Dim
210.9Dim
220.9Dim
230.9Dim
240.9Dim
251.0Dim
261.0Dim
271.0Dim
281.0Dim
291.1Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Witham?

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

1.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Witham.

What to pack for Witham in January

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

In January, Witham sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain geara windbreaker

Sea temperature near Witham 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 39 km away) is warmest in August at about 18°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°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct15Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Witham 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 Witham peaks around June 23 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 23UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Witham?

Witham sits at 51.8°N, 0.6°E, 25 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Maldon, 8.0 km away.

Topography around Witham

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Witham has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 73 m around an average of 34 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 115 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 290 m.

The land around Witham is covered by cropland (39%), trees (25%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, cropland (50%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and cropland (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
73 m
16 km
115 m
80 km
290 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
January weather nearby: Maldon 8.0 km · Braintree 11 km · Chelmsford 14 km · Colchester 21 km · Wickford 23 km · Rayleigh 24 km · Billericay 24 km · Rochford 25 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 Witham (51.8001°, 0.6404°, elevation 25 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).