Workington weather in January

In January, Workington sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 128 mm of precipitation across 17.7 wet days and about 7.6 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 4th-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 17% 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 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Workington's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Workington's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12th warmest
Overnight low
2nd coldest
Precipitation
128 mm
17.7 wet days
Daylight
7 h 36 min
8:37 AM – 4:10 PM
Cloud cover
73%
9th clearest
Wind
22 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.56 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.6
out of 10

Workington is town, civil parish and port in Cumbria, England, 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 Workington reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°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 10°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
1874
1974
2073
2173
2273
2373
2473
2573
2673
2773
2873
2973
3073
3173

How January really feels in Workington

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.

Workington weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 12817.71.27.60.6
Feb / 10114.71.49.30.7
Mar / 8814.50.811.51.2
Apr10° / 7513.30.313.72.2
May13° / 7913.1015.83.4
Jun16° / 11°8713.8016.94.2
Jul17° / 13°9815.9016.54.7
Aug17° / 13°11717.1014.74.6
Sep16° / 11°10815012.54.0
Oct13° / 14117010.22.9
Nov10° / 14018.50.28.21.6
Dec / 14117.60.97.10.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% 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 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12971
23169
33169
43169
53070
63070
73169
83268
93169
103169
113169
123070
133070
143169
153169
163070
173070
183070
193070
203070
213070
223070
233070
243070
253169
263169
273070
283070
293169
303169
313169

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Workington gets around 128 mm of rain and snow over 17.7 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 57% and peaks near 62% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1585
2595
3595
4594
5604
6614
7614
8614
9624
10624
11624
12614
13614
14604
15604
16594
17594
18584
19574
20564
21554
22544
23534
24524
25524
26514
27514
28514
29514
30514
31525

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

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 21 km/h on the calmest days to 23 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
122breezy
222breezy
322breezy
422breezy
522breezy
622breezy
723breezy
823breezy
923breezy
1023breezy
1122breezy
1222breezy
1322breezy
1422breezy
1522breezy
1622breezy
1722breezy
1822breezy
1922breezy
2022breezy
2121breezy
2221breezy
2321breezy
2421breezy
2521breezy
2621breezy
2721breezy
2821breezy
2921breezy
3021breezy
3121breezy

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 06 min at the start of January to 8 h 18 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 8:45 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
37.18:453:52
47.18:443:53
57.28:443:54
67.28:443:55
77.28:433:57
87.38:433:58
97.38:423:59
107.38:424:01
117.48:414:02
127.48:404:04
137.48:394:05
147.58:394:07
157.58:384:08
167.68:374:10
177.68:364:12
187.68:354:13
197.78:344:15
207.78:334:17
217.88:314:19
227.88:304:21
237.98:294:22
247.98:284:24
258.08:264:26
268.18:254:28
278.18:234:30
288.28:224:32
298.28:204:34
308.38:194:36
318.38:174:38

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0.56 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.42 kWh/m² to a high of 4.89 kWh/m² in May across the year — January's 0.56 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.4Dim
20.4Dim
30.4Dim
40.4Dim
50.5Dim
60.5Dim
70.5Dim
80.5Dim
90.5Dim
100.5Dim
110.5Dim
120.5Dim
130.5Dim
140.5Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.6Dim
180.6Dim
190.6Dim
200.6Dim
210.6Dim
220.6Dim
230.7Dim
240.7Dim
250.7Dim
260.7Dim
270.7Dim
280.8Dim
290.8Dim
300.8Dim
310.8Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Workington?

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
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Workington.

What to pack for Workington in January

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

In January, Workington sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°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 Workington 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 Workington 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 Workington peaks around June 16 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 16UV 5Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug5High
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Workington?

Workington sits at 54.6°N, 3.5°W, 20 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Whitehaven, 11 km away.

Morecambe

Topography around Workington

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Workington has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 32 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 562 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 961 m.

The land around Workington is covered by grassland (34%) and water (22%) within 3 km, water (50%) and grassland (37%) within 16 km, and grassland (51%) and water (35%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
562 m
80 km
961 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
January weather nearby: Whitehaven 11 km · Dumfries 48 km · Carlisle 48 km · Windermere 50 km · Penrith 51 km · Kendal 62 km · Barrow in Furness 63 km · Morecambe 78 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 Workington (54.6425°, -3.5441°, elevation 20 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).