Eureka weather in January

In January, Eureka sees average daytime highs of 53°F and overnight lows near 46°F, with 8.0 in of precipitation across 15.3 wet days and about 9.4 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 2nd-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 22% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 06 min at the start of January to 9 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Eureka's 12th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Eureka's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 53°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 46°; 2nd coldest
Precipitation: 8.0 in; 15.3 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 24 min; 7:45 AM – 5:07 PM
Cloud cover: 67%; 12th clearest
Wind: 9 mph; 7th windiest
Solar energy: 1.84 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.6; out of 10

Eureka is city in and county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States.

Density: 722/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1850

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← December Eureka year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

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 Eureka reaches about 53°F in the afternoon and slips back to 46°F overnight — a 6°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 48°F and 58°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and on par with February.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53
Avg low (°F)	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	52	46
2	52	46
3	52	46
4	52	46
5	52	46
6	52	46
7	52	46
8	52	46
9	53	46
10	53	46
11	53	46
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

Eureka weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 9th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	53° / 46°	8.0	15.3	9.4	2.6
Feb	53° / 46°	6.7	13.4	10.4	2.6
Mar	53° / 47°	7.0	14.7	11.7	2.6
Apr	53° / 48°	4.1	11.8	13.1	3.0
May	55° / 50°	2.1	7	14.2	3.9
Jun	57° / 52°	0.9	3.7	14.9	4.9
Jul	60° / 53°	0.1	0.8	14.6	6.0
Aug	61° / 54°	0.2	0.9	13.6	6.3
Sep	61° / 54°	0.6	2.3	12.3	6.3
Oct	59° / 52°	2.9	6.3	10.9	5.1
Nov	55° / 49°	5.7	12.5	9.7	3.3
Dec	53° / 47°	9.6	15.6	9.1	2.6

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 66%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	35	35	35	34	34	33	34	33	34	33	34	34	34	34	35	34	35	35	34	35	34	33	34	34	34	34	33	34	33	33	33
Cloudier (%)	65	65	65	66	66	67	66	67	66	67	66	66	66	66	65	66	65	65	66	65	66	67	66	66	66	66	67	66	67	67	67

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	34	66
8	33	67
9	34	66
10	33	67
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	34	66
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	34	66
26	34	66
27	33	67
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Eureka gets around 8.0 in of rain and snow over 15.3 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 50% and peaks near 51% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	49	50	50	50	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	50	50	50	50	50	49	49	49	49	49	49	48	48	48	47	47	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	51
6	51
7	51
8	51
9	51
10	51
11	51
12	51
13	51
14	51
15	50
16	50
17	50
18	50
19	50
20	49
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	49
25	49
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	47
30	47
31	47

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.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in January

Winds average 9 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 9 mph on the calmest days to 10 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	10	light breeze
2	9	light breeze
3	9	light breeze
4	9	light breeze
5	9	light breeze
6	9	light breeze
7	9	light breeze
8	9	light breeze
9	10	light breeze
10	10	light breeze
11	10	light breeze
12	10	light breeze
13	10	light breeze
14	10	light breeze
15	10	light breeze
16	10	light breeze
17	9	light breeze
18	9	light breeze
19	9	light breeze
20	9	light breeze
21	9	light breeze
22	9	light breeze
23	9	light breeze
24	9	light breeze
25	9	light breeze
26	9	light breeze
27	9	light breeze
28	9	light breeze
29	9	light breeze
30	9	light breeze
31	9	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 06 min at the start of January to 9 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 42 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:46 AM to 7:36 AM, and sunset from 4:53 PM to 5:24 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.8	9.8
Sunrise (AM)	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:47	7:47	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:46	7:45	7:45	7:45	7:44	7:44	7:43	7:43	7:42	7:42	7:41	7:41	7:40	7:39	7:39	7:38	7:37	7:36	7:36
Sunset (PM)	4:53	4:54	4:55	4:56	4:57	4:58	4:58	4:59	5:00	5:01	5:02	5:03	5:04	5:05	5:06	5:07	5:08	5:09	5:11	5:12	5:13	5:14	5:15	5:16	5:17	5:18	5:20	5:21	5:22	5:23	5:24

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.1	7:46	4:53
2	9.1	7:46	4:54
3	9.1	7:46	4:55
4	9.2	7:46	4:56
5	9.2	7:47	4:57
6	9.2	7:47	4:58
7	9.2	7:46	4:58
8	9.2	7:46	4:59
9	9.2	7:46	5:00
10	9.3	7:46	5:01
11	9.3	7:46	5:02
12	9.3	7:46	5:03
13	9.3	7:46	5:04
14	9.3	7:45	5:05
15	9.4	7:45	5:06
16	9.4	7:45	5:07
17	9.4	7:44	5:08
18	9.4	7:44	5:09
19	9.5	7:43	5:11
20	9.5	7:43	5:12
21	9.5	7:42	5:13
22	9.5	7:42	5:14
23	9.6	7:41	5:15
24	9.6	7:41	5:16
25	9.6	7:40	5:17
26	9.7	7:39	5:18
27	9.7	7:39	5:20
28	9.7	7:38	5:21
29	9.7	7:37	5:22
30	9.8	7:36	5:23
31	9.8	7:36	5:24

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.84 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 7.66 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.84 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.3
Level	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	1.7	Dim
2	1.7	Dim
3	1.7	Dim
4	1.7	Dim
5	1.7	Dim
6	1.7	Dim
7	1.7	Dim
8	1.7	Dim
9	1.7	Dim
10	1.7	Dim
11	1.7	Dim
12	1.8	Dim
13	1.8	Dim
14	1.8	Dim
15	1.8	Dim
16	1.8	Dim
17	1.8	Dim
18	1.9	Dim
19	1.9	Dim
20	1.9	Dim
21	1.9	Dim
22	2.0	Dim
23	2.0	Moderate
24	2.0	Moderate
25	2.1	Moderate
26	2.1	Moderate
27	2.1	Moderate
28	2.1	Moderate
29	2.2	Moderate
30	2.2	Moderate
31	2.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Eureka

In seasonPeak

In January, Eureka sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Eureka's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is January a good time to visit Eureka?

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

2.6

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Eureka.

What to pack for Eureka in January

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

In January, Eureka sees daytime highs around 53°F and nights near 46°F. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Eureka in January

The nearest coast averages about 52°F 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 55°F and coldest in March near 51°F.

The water stays below 68°F all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°F)	52	52	51	52	52	53	54	55	55	54	53	53
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°F)	Comfort
Jan	52	Bracing
Feb	52	Bracing
Mar	51	Bracing
Apr	52	Bracing
May	52	Bracing
Jun	53	Bracing
Jul	54	Bracing
Aug	55	Bracing
Sep	55	Bracing
Oct	54	Bracing
Nov	53	Bracing
Dec	53	Bracing

UV index in Eureka 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 Eureka peaks around June 21 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 2 (low).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	3	5	6	9	10	9	8	5	5	2	2
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	9	Very high
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	5	High
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	2	Low

Air quality in Eureka 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 Eureka is worst in September — around 35 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 6.3× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	6	7	8	9	8	9	11	28	35	8	7	6
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Poor	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	6	Good
Feb	7	Good
Mar	8	Good
Apr	9	Good
May	8	Good
Jun	9	Good
Jul	11	Good
Aug	28	Moderate
Sep	35	Poor
Oct	8	Good
Nov	7	Good
Dec	6	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Eureka?

Eureka sits at 40.8°N, 124.2°W, 39 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Bayside, 6.2 mi away.

Topography around Eureka

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Eureka has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 302 ft around an average of 39 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,293 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,415 ft.

The land around Eureka is covered by water (35%) and artificial surfaces (32%) within 2 miles, water (46%) and trees (39%) within 10 miles, and trees (64%) and water (30%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

302 ft

water 35%

10 miles

2,293 ft

water 46%

50 miles

7,415 ft

trees 64%

treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland

← December Eureka year-round climate February →Best places to visit in January

January weather nearby: Bayside 6.2 mi · Arcata 6.2 mi · McKinleyville 11 mi · Redding 94 mi · Grants Pass 121 mi · Ashland 122 mi · Medford 125 mi · Ukiah 125 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

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 Eureka (40.8021°, -124.1637°, elevation 39 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. 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. 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).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	52	46
2	52	46
3	52	46
4	52	46
5	52	46
6	52	46
7	52	46
8	52	46
9	53	46
10	53	46
11	53	46
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	34	66
8	33	67
9	34	66
10	33	67
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	34	66
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	34	66
26	34	66
27	33	67
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	51
6	51
7	51
8	51
9	51
10	51
11	51
12	51
13	51
14	51
15	50
16	50
17	50
18	50
19	50
20	49
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	49
25	49
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	47
30	47
31	47

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	52	46
2	52	46
3	52	46
4	52	46
5	52	46
6	52	46
7	52	46
8	52	46
9	53	46
10	53	46
11	53	46
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	34	66
8	33	67
9	34	66
10	33	67
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	34	66
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	34	66
26	34	66
27	33	67
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	51
6	51
7	51
8	51
9	51
10	51
11	51
12	51
13	51
14	51
15	50
16	50
17	50
18	50
19	50
20	49
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	49
25	49
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	47
30	47
31	47

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	52	46
2	52	46
3	52	46
4	52	46
5	52	46
6	52	46
7	52	46
8	52	46
9	53	46
10	53	46
11	53	46
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	34	66
8	33	67
9	34	66
10	33	67
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	34	66
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	35	65
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	34	66
26	34	66
27	33	67
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)
1	49
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	51
6	51
7	51
8	51
9	51
10	51
11	51
12	51
13	51
14	51
15	50
16	50
17	50
18	50
19	50
20	49
21	49
22	49
23	49
24	49
25	49
26	48
27	48
28	48
29	47
30	47
31	47

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100