Elizabethtown weather in January

In January, Elizabethtown sees average daytime highs of 43°F and overnight lows near 28°F, with 3.7 in of precipitation across 10 wet days and about 9.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 43°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 24 min at the start of January to 10 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Elizabethtown's 10th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Elizabethtown's year-round climate.

Daytime high
43°
12th warmest
Overnight low
28°
1st coldest
Precipitation
3.7 in
10 wet days
Daylight
9 h 42 min
8:03 AM – 5:43 PM
Cloud cover
67%
10th clearest
Wind
7 mph
2nd windiest
Solar energy
2.15 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.5
out of 10

Elizabethtown is county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States.

Density
413/km²
people per km²
Founded
1797

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 43°F through the month.

A typical January day in Elizabethtown reaches about 43°F in the afternoon and slips back to 28°F overnight — a 15°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 28°F and 59°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°F cooler than December and about 4°F cooler than February.

20°40°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
14430
24430
34430
44430
54430
64429
74329
84329
94329
104329
114329
124328
134328
144328
154228
164228
174228
184228
194227
204227
214227
224227
234227
244327
254328
264328
274328
284328
294328
304428
314428

How January really feels in Elizabethtown

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.

Elizabethtown weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan43° / 28°3.7102.69.70.5
Feb47° / 31°3.69.72.610.51.5
Mar57° / 38°4.711.91.311.73.8
Apr67° / 48°5.1120.112.95.8
May76° / 58°5.013.10146.3
Jun84° / 66°4.212.5014.65.3
Jul87° / 69°4.112.1014.34.6
Aug86° / 68°3.29.9013.55.1
Sep80° / 60°3.58.1012.36.8
Oct69° / 49°3.57.90116.8
Nov56° / 39°3.69.20.5103.9
Dec46° / 32°4.310.61.69.41.3

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 63%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33664
43664
53664
63664
73565
83565
93565
103664
113664
123664
133664
143664
153664
163664
173664
183763
193763
203862
214060
224060
233961
243961
253961
263961
273961
283961
293961
303961
313862

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Elizabethtown gets around 3.7 in of rain and snow over 10 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 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1337
2337
3347
4348
5348
6358
7358
8358
9358
10359
11359
12359
13359
14359
15349
16349
17339
18339
19329
20329
21319
22309
23309
24308
25298
26298
27298
28308
29309
30309
31309

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 98% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1964
2964
3964
4964
5964
6964
7964
8964
9973
10973
11973
12973
13982
14982
15982
16982
17991
18991
19991
20991
21991
22991
23991
24991
25991
26991
27991
28991
29991
30991
31991

Wind in January

Winds average 7 mph in January.

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

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
17calm
27calm
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 24 min at the start of January to 10 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:04 AM to 7:55 AM, and sunset from 5:30 PM to 5:58 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.48:045:30
29.48:045:30
39.58:045:31
49.58:045:32
59.58:045:33
69.58:045:34
79.58:045:34
89.58:045:35
99.58:045:36
109.58:045:37
119.68:045:38
129.68:045:39
139.68:045:40
149.68:035:41
159.68:035:42
169.78:035:43
179.78:035:44
189.78:025:45
199.78:025:46
209.88:025:47
219.88:015:48
229.88:015:49
239.88:005:50
249.98:005:51
259.97:595:52
269.97:595:53
279.97:585:54
2810.07:575:55
2910.07:575:56
3010.07:565:57
3110.07:555:58

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.15 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.83 kWh/m² to a high of 6.21 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.15 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.9Dim
21.9Dim
31.9Dim
41.9Dim
51.9Dim
61.9Dim
71.9Dim
81.9Dim
92.0Dim
102.0Dim
112.0Moderate
122.0Moderate
132.0Moderate
142.1Moderate
152.1Moderate
162.1Moderate
172.2Moderate
182.2Moderate
192.2Moderate
202.3Moderate
212.3Moderate
222.3Moderate
232.4Moderate
242.4Moderate
252.4Moderate
262.4Moderate
272.5Moderate
282.5Moderate
292.5Moderate
302.5Moderate
312.6Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Elizabethtown?

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

0.5
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Elizabethtown.

What to pack for Elizabethtown in January

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

In January, Elizabethtown sees daytime highs around 43°F and nights near 28°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown peaks around June 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 9Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.8× the cleanest month (November, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1518 µg/m³Nov 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr11Good
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Elizabethtown?

Elizabethtown sits at 37.7°N, 85.9°W, 725 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Radcliff, 11 mi away.

Topography around Elizabethtown

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Elizabethtown has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 226 ft around an average of 761 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 623 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,027 ft.

The land around Elizabethtown is covered by trees (37%), grassland (29%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, trees (41%), grassland (28%) and cropland (27%) within 10 miles, and trees (57%) and grassland (27%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
226 ft
10 miles
623 ft
50 miles
1,027 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Radcliff 11 mi · Valley Station 29 mi · Pleasure Ridge Park 31 mi · Okolona 32 mi · Highview 34 mi · Newburg 34 mi · Shively 35 mi · Fern Creek 35 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 Elizabethtown (37.694°, -85.8591°, elevation 725 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).