Helena weather in January

In January, Helena sees average daytime highs of 28°F and overnight lows near 12°F, with 0.9 in of precipitation across 7 wet days and about 8.8 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 26°F in the first days to 29°F by the end. 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 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Helena's 9th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Helena's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 28°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 1st coldest
Precipitation: 0.9 in; 7 wet days
Daylight: 8 h 48 min; 8:15 AM – 5:00 PM
Cloud cover: 66%; 9th clearest
Wind: 6 mph; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 1.85 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.0; out of 10

Helena is capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and seat of Lewis and Clark County.

Density: 749/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1864

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

← December Helena 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

Highs climb over the month, from about 26°F in the first days to 29°F by the end.

A typical January day in Helena reaches about 28°F in the afternoon and slips back to 12°F overnight — a 15°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°F and 38°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 3°F cooler than 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)	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29
Avg low (°F)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13

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

How January really feels in Helena

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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

31 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Helena weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 12°	0.9	7	7.6	8.8	0.0
Feb	31° / 13°	0.9	7	7.6	10	0.0
Mar	39° / 20°	1.4	9.7	7.7	11.6	0.1
Apr	48° / 28°	2.4	11.9	7.2	13.3	1.7
May	59° / 37°	3.2	13.8	2.7	14.8	4.0
Jun	67° / 44°	3.8	13.5	0.6	15.6	5.7
Jul	78° / 50°	1.7	8.8	0	15.2	7.2
Aug	78° / 49°	1.5	7.5	0.1	14	7.4
Sep	67° / 42°	1.6	6.8	0.9	12.4	6.7
Oct	52° / 32°	1.5	8.3	3.8	10.7	2.9
Nov	37° / 21°	1.2	7.7	6.2	9.2	0.1
Dec	27° / 12°	1.1	7.3	7.8	8.4	0.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 62%.

	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 (%)	38	38	38	38	38	38	39	38	38	37	38	38	38	38	38	37	38	38	38	37	38	38	39	39	39	38	39	39	39	40	40
Cloudier (%)	62	62	62	62	62	62	61	62	62	63	62	62	62	62	62	63	62	62	62	63	62	62	61	61	61	62	61	61	61	60	60

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	38	62
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	38	62
20	37	63
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	39	61
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	39	61
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	40	60
31	40	60

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Helena gets around 0.9 in of rain and snow over 7 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 22% and peaks near 25% on the wettest days, and about 8 days bring 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 (%)	25	25	25	24	24	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	20	20	20	21
Snow chance (%)	27	27	26	26	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23

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

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 6 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 6 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)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 24 min at the start of January to 9 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:18 AM to 8:02 AM, and sunset from 4:44 PM to 5:21 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)	8.4	8.4	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.5	8.6	8.6	8.6	8.6	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.9	8.9	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.2	9.2	9.3	9.3
Sunrise (AM)	8:18	8:19	8:19	8:18	8:18	8:18	8:18	8:18	8:18	8:17	8:17	8:17	8:16	8:16	8:15	8:15	8:14	8:14	8:13	8:12	8:12	8:11	8:10	8:09	8:08	8:07	8:06	8:05	8:04	8:03	8:02
Sunset (PM)	4:44	4:45	4:46	4:47	4:48	4:49	4:50	4:51	4:52	4:53	4:54	4:55	4:56	4:58	4:59	5:00	5:01	5:03	5:04	5:05	5:07	5:08	5:09	5:11	5:12	5:13	5:15	5:16	5:18	5:19	5:21

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	8.4	8:18	4:44
2	8.4	8:19	4:45
3	8.5	8:19	4:46
4	8.5	8:18	4:47
5	8.5	8:18	4:48
6	8.5	8:18	4:49
7	8.5	8:18	4:50
8	8.5	8:18	4:51
9	8.6	8:18	4:52
10	8.6	8:17	4:53
11	8.6	8:17	4:54
12	8.6	8:17	4:55
13	8.7	8:16	4:56
14	8.7	8:16	4:58
15	8.7	8:15	4:59
16	8.8	8:15	5:00
17	8.8	8:14	5:01
18	8.8	8:14	5:03
19	8.8	8:13	5:04
20	8.9	8:12	5:05
21	8.9	8:12	5:07
22	9.0	8:11	5:08
23	9.0	8:10	5:09
24	9.0	8:09	5:11
25	9.1	8:08	5:12
26	9.1	8:07	5:13
27	9.1	8:06	5:15
28	9.2	8:05	5:16
29	9.2	8:04	5:18
30	9.3	8:03	5:19
31	9.3	8:02	5:21

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.85 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.55 kWh/m² to a high of 7.45 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.85 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)	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	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	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3
Level	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	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	1.6	Dim
2	1.6	Dim
3	1.6	Dim
4	1.6	Dim
5	1.6	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	1.9	Dim
18	1.9	Dim
19	1.9	Dim
20	1.9	Dim
21	2.0	Dim
22	2.0	Moderate
23	2.0	Moderate
24	2.1	Moderate
25	2.1	Moderate
26	2.1	Moderate
27	2.2	Moderate
28	2.2	Moderate
29	2.2	Moderate
30	2.3	Moderate
31	2.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Helena

In seasonPeak

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

Helena's rainy season runs April–June, 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 Helena?

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

7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Helena.

What to pack for Helena in January

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

In January, Helena sees daytime highs around 28°F and nights near 12°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 7 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Helena in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Helena peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (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)	1	2	5	5	7	8	9	7	5	3	2	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Low
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	5	Moderate
May	7	High
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	9	Very high
Aug	7	Very high
Sep	5	High
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Air quality in Helena 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 Helena is worst in August — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.1× the cleanest month (December, 8 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)	9	9	11	11	11	9	23	25	17	8	9	8
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	9	Good
Feb	9	Good
Mar	11	Good
Apr	11	Good
May	11	Good
Jun	9	Good
Jul	23	Moderate
Aug	25	Moderate
Sep	17	Moderate
Oct	8	Good
Nov	9	Good
Dec	8	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Helena?

Helena sits at 46.6°N, 112.0°W, 4,058 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Butte, 47 mi away.

Topography around Helena

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Helena has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,588 ft around an average of 4,219 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,481 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,729 ft.

The land around Helena is covered by artificial surfaces (45%), trees (28%) and grassland (25%) within 2 miles, grassland (53%) and trees (31%) within 10 miles, and grassland (53%) and trees (42%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

1,588 ft

artificial surfaces 45%

10 miles

3,481 ft

grassland 53%

50 miles

6,729 ft

grassland 53%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

January weather nearby: Butte 47 mi · Great Falls 71 mi · Bozeman 79 mi · Missoula 94 mi · Kalispell 153 mi · Whitefish 165 mi · Billings 178 mi · Rexburg 191 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 Helena (46.5927°, -112.0361°, elevation 4,058 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	38	62
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	38	62
20	37	63
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	39	61
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	39	61
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	40	60
31	40	60

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	38	62
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	38	62
20	37	63
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	39	61
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	39	61
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	40	60
31	40	60

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	38	62
5	38	62
6	38	62
7	39	61
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	38	62
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	38	62
15	38	62
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	38	62
20	37	63
21	38	62
22	38	62
23	39	61
24	39	61
25	39	61
26	38	62
27	39	61
28	39	61
29	39	61
30	40	60
31	40	60

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

	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