Athens weather in January

In January, Athens sees average daytime highs of 53°F and overnight lows near 35°F, with 4.4 in of precipitation across 10.3 wet days and about 10 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 53°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 48 min at the start of January to 10 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Athens's 7th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Athens's year-round climate.

Daytime high
53°
12th warmest
Overnight low
35°
1st coldest
Precipitation
4.4 in
10.3 wet days
Daylight
10 hours
7:44 AM – 5:42 PM
Cloud cover
56%
7th clearest
Wind
7 mph
2nd windiest
Solar energy
2.66 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.1
out of 10

Athens is consolidated city-county and county seat of Clarke County, Georgia, United States.

Density
416/km²
people per km²
Founded
1806

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 53°F through the month.

A typical January day in Athens reaches about 53°F in the afternoon and slips back to 35°F overnight — a 18°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 40°F and 65°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°F cooler than December and about 4°F cooler than February.

20°40°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
15336
25336
35336
45336
55336
65336
75336
85336
95336
105336
115336
125335
135335
145335
155335
165335
175335
185335
195335
205335
215335
225335
235335
245335
255335
265335
275435
285435
295435
305435
315435

How January really feels in Athens

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Athens 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 (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan53° / 35°4.410.30.6103.1
Feb57° / 38°4.49.50.410.74.1
Mar65° / 44°4.59.90.111.75.9
Apr73° / 52°3.68.8012.87.0
May80° / 60°3.39.5013.76.6
Jun86° / 68°4.013.8014.24.5
Jul89° / 71°4.014.50143.7
Aug88° / 70°4.312.9013.34.2
Sep83° / 64°3.68.2012.26.2
Oct73° / 53°3.36.8011.17.4
Nov63° / 43°3.68.2010.25.9
Dec55° / 37°4.410.40.39.83.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 53%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14357
24357
34357
44357
54357
64357
74357
84357
94357
104456
114456
124555
134654
144753
154753
164951
174951
185050
195050
205149
215149
225149
235149
245149
255248
265248
275050
285050
295050
305050
314951

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Athens gets around 4.4 in of rain and snow over 10.3 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 33% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1342
2332
3332
4332
5332
6331
7342
8342
9342
10342
11342
12342
13352
14352
15352
16352
17342
18342
19342
20332
21332
22332
23332
24332
25332
26322
27322
28322
29322
30322
31322

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 95% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
19352
29352
39352
49352
59352
69451
79451
89451
99451
109451
119451
129451
139451
149451
159451
169451
179451
189541
199541
209541
219640
229730
239730
249730
259730
269730
279631
289631
299631
309631
319631

Wind in January

Winds average 7 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
16calm
26calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min at the start of January to 10 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 30 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:43 AM to 7:38 AM, and sunset from 5:30 PM to 5:56 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.87:435:30
29.87:445:31
39.87:445:31
49.87:445:32
59.87:445:33
69.87:445:34
79.87:445:34
89.87:445:35
99.97:445:36
109.97:445:37
119.97:445:38
129.97:445:38
139.97:445:39
149.97:445:40
1510.07:445:41
1610.07:445:42
1710.07:435:43
1810.07:435:44
1910.07:435:45
2010.07:435:46
2110.17:425:46
2210.17:425:47
2310.17:425:48
2410.17:415:49
2510.27:415:50
2610.27:405:51
2710.27:405:52
2810.27:395:53
2910.37:395:54
3010.37:385:55
3110.37:385:56

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.66 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.34 kWh/m² to a high of 6.12 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.66 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.3Moderate
22.4Moderate
32.4Moderate
42.4Moderate
52.4Moderate
62.4Moderate
72.4Moderate
82.5Moderate
92.5Moderate
102.5Moderate
112.5Moderate
122.6Moderate
132.6Moderate
142.6Moderate
152.6Moderate
162.7Moderate
172.7Moderate
182.7Moderate
192.8Moderate
202.8Moderate
212.8Moderate
222.8Moderate
232.9Moderate
242.9Moderate
252.9Moderate
262.9Moderate
272.9Moderate
283.0Moderate
293.0Moderate
303.0Moderate
313.0Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Athens?

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

3.1
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
12th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Athens.

What to pack for Athens in January

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

In January, Athens sees daytime highs around 53°F and nights near 35°F. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Athens in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Athens peaks around June 21 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 21UV 10Dec 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Athens in January

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where January falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Athens is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.7× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodJul 1719 µg/m³Jan 127 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb11Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr12Good
May13Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul20Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep13Moderate
Oct13Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Athens?

Athens sits at 34.0°N, 83.4°W, 748 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Winder, 20 mi away.

Topography around Athens

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Athens has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 246 ft around an average of 712 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 512 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,349 ft.

The land around Athens is covered by trees (61%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 2 miles, trees (72%) and grassland (21%) within 10 miles, and trees (78%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
246 ft
10 miles
512 ft
50 miles
2,349 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Winder 20 mi · Gainesville 35 mi · Lawrenceville 35 mi · Snellville 37 mi · Sugar Hill 39 mi · Suwanee 40 mi · Conyers 42 mi · Duluth 44 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 Athens (33.9609°, -83.3779°, elevation 748 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).