Albert Lea weather in January

In January, Albert Lea sees average daytime highs of 23°F and overnight lows near 8°F, with 1.1 in of precipitation across 6.4 wet days and about 9.1 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 23°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 48 min at the start of January to 9 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Albert Lea's 12th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Albert Lea's year-round climate.

Daytime high
23°
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
1.1 in
6.4 wet days
Daylight
9 h 06 min
7:50 AM – 4:55 PM
Cloud cover
70%
12th clearest
Wind
11 mph
2nd windiest
Solar energy
2 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Albert Lea is city in Minnesota.

Density
473/km²
people per km²
Founded
1855

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 23°F through the month.

A typical January day in Albert Lea reaches about 23°F in the afternoon and slips back to 8°F overnight — a 15°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 5°F and 37°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 5°F cooler than December and about 4°F cooler than February.

20°40°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
12410
22410
32410
4249
5239
6239
7239
8238
9238
10238
11238
12238
13228
14228
15228
16228
17228
18228
19228
20228
21228
22228
23238
24238
25238
26238
27238
28238
29239
30239
31249

How January really feels in Albert Lea

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 31 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
31
31 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in January is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Albert Lea weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 1.16.46.19.10.0
Feb27° / 12°1.25.95.310.20.0
Mar40° / 24°2.48.54.311.60.5
Apr56° / 37°3.811.52.113.23.5
May68° / 49°4.913.60.114.55.7
Jun77° / 59°5.512.7015.26.3
Jul80° / 63°4.310014.96.7
Aug78° / 60°4.110.1013.86.9
Sep71° / 52°3.68.8012.36.9
Oct58° / 40°2.68.90.610.84.4
Nov42° / 27°1.96.63.39.50.7
Dec28° / 14°1.47.26.28.80.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 67%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23466
33367
43466
53466
63466
73367
83367
93367
103367
113367
123367
133268
143268
153268
163268
173268
183268
193268
203367
213268
223268
233268
243268
253169
263169
273169
283169
293268
303268
313268

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Albert Lea gets around 1.1 in of rain and snow over 6.4 wet days in January, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 21% and peaks near 22% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12018
22018
32018
42019
52019
62019
72019
82019
92019
102019
112019
122020
132120
142120
152120
162221
172221
182221
192221
202221
212221
222221
232221
242221
252221
262221
272121
282121
292121
302020
312020

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 11 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 11 mph on the calmest days to 11 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
111light breeze
211light breeze
311light breeze
411light breeze
511light breeze
611light breeze
711light breeze
811light breeze
911light breeze
1011light breeze
1111light breeze
1211light breeze
1311light breeze
1411light breeze
1511light breeze
1611light breeze
1711light breeze
1811light breeze
1911light breeze
2011light breeze
2111light breeze
2211light breeze
2311light breeze
2411light breeze
2511light breeze
2611light breeze
2711light breeze
2811light breeze
2911light breeze
3011light breeze
3111light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 48 min at the start of January to 9 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 48 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:53 AM to 7:39 AM, and sunset from 4:41 PM to 5:14 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.87:534:41
28.87:534:41
38.87:534:42
48.87:534:43
58.97:534:44
68.97:534:45
78.97:534:46
88.97:524:47
98.97:524:48
108.97:524:49
119.07:524:50
129.07:524:51
139.07:514:52
149.07:514:53
159.17:514:54
169.17:504:55
179.17:504:57
189.17:494:58
199.27:494:59
209.27:485:00
219.27:475:01
229.37:475:03
239.37:465:04
249.37:455:05
259.47:455:06
269.47:445:08
279.47:435:09
289.57:425:10
299.57:415:12
309.57:405:13
319.67:395:14

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.6 kWh/m² to a high of 6.36 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 2 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.7Dim
21.7Dim
31.7Dim
41.7Dim
51.8Dim
61.8Dim
71.8Dim
81.8Dim
91.8Dim
101.8Dim
111.9Dim
121.9Dim
131.9Dim
141.9Dim
151.9Dim
162.0Dim
172.0Moderate
182.0Moderate
192.1Moderate
202.1Moderate
212.1Moderate
222.1Moderate
232.2Moderate
242.2Moderate
252.3Moderate
262.3Moderate
272.3Moderate
282.4Moderate
292.4Moderate
302.4Moderate
312.5Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Albert Lea

In seasonPeak

None of Albert Lea's seasonal hazards are active in January. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Albert Lea sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Albert Lea's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Atlantic hurricane
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is January a good time to visit Albert Lea?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Albert Lea.

What to pack for Albert Lea in January

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

In January, Albert Lea sees daytime highs around 23°F and nights near 8°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Albert Lea in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Albert Lea peaks around June 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateLowJun 15UV 9Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul7High
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Albert Lea?

Albert Lea sits at 43.6°N, 93.4°W, 1,243 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Austin, 20 mi away.

Topography around Albert Lea

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Albert Lea.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Albert Lea has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 115 ft around an average of 1,240 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 194 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 712 ft.

The land around Albert Lea is covered by trees (31%) and grassland (24%) within 2 miles, cropland (73%) within 10 miles, and cropland (85%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
115 ft
10 miles
194 ft
50 miles
712 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
January weather nearby: Austin 20 mi · Owatonna 31 mi · Mason City 35 mi · Faribault 45 mi · Mankato 48 mi · Rochester 52 mi · Northfield 57 mi · Farmington 70 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 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 Albert Lea (43.648°, -93.3683°, elevation 1,243 ft), 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).