Joplin weather in January

In January, Joplin sees average daytime highs of 45°F and overnight lows near 28°F, with 2.3 in of precipitation across 7.1 wet days and about 9.7 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 45°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 30 min at the start of January to 10 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Joplin's 8th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Joplin's year-round climate.

Daytime high
45°
12th warmest
Overnight low
28°
1st coldest
Precipitation
2.3 in
7.1 wet days
Daylight
9 h 42 min
7:36 AM – 5:19 PM
Cloud cover
55%
8th clearest
Wind
7 mph
5th windiest
Solar energy
2.48 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.0
out of 10

Joplin is city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County, Missouri, USA.

Density
542/km²
people per km²
Founded
1873

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 45°F through the month.

A typical January day in Joplin reaches about 45°F in the afternoon and slips back to 28°F overnight — a 17°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 30°F and 61°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°F cooler than December and about 5°F cooler than February.

20°40°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
14428
24428
34428
44428
54428
64428
74427
84427
94427
104427
114427
124427
134427
144427
154427
164427
174427
184527
194527
204527
214527
224527
234528
244628
254628
264628
274628
284628
294628
304628
314728

How January really feels in Joplin

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.

Joplin weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan45° / 28°2.37.129.71.0
Feb50° / 31°2.271.610.62.3
Mar59° / 40°3.910.30.911.74.6
Apr68° / 48°5.111.50.112.96.1
May76° / 58°6.2130.1146.3
Jun85° / 67°4.310.8014.55.3
Jul90° / 71°3.29.2014.34.2
Aug89° / 69°2.98.3013.44.5
Sep81° / 61°3.97.9012.36.7
Oct70° / 50°3.98.40.1117.0
Nov57° / 39°2.97.60.6104.5
Dec47° / 30°2.57.11.79.51.7

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 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14852
24852
34852
44852
54852
64852
74852
84951
94951
104951
114852
124852
135050
145050
155050
165050
174951
184951
195050
204951
214951
224951
234951
244951
254951
264951
274951
284951
294852
304852
314852

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Joplin gets around 2.3 in of rain and snow over 7.1 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 22% and peaks near 23% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1215
2216
3216
4226
5226
6226
7226
8226
9226
10227
11227
12227
13227
14227
15226
16226
17226
18226
19226
20226
21226
22226
23226
24226
25226
26226
27227
28237
29237
30237
31238

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 99% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1982
2982
3982
4982
5982
6982
7982
8991
9991
10991
11991
12991
13991
14991
15991
161000
171000
181000
191000
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 30 min at the start of January to 10 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 7:36 AM to 7:29 AM, and sunset from 5:06 PM to 5:34 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.57:365:06
29.57:375:07
39.57:375:07
49.57:375:08
59.57:375:09
69.57:375:10
79.67:375:11
89.67:375:11
99.67:375:12
109.67:375:13
119.67:375:14
129.67:375:15
139.77:375:16
149.77:365:17
159.77:365:18
169.77:365:19
179.77:365:20
189.87:355:21
199.87:355:22
209.87:355:23
219.87:345:24
229.87:345:25
239.97:335:26
249.97:335:27
259.97:325:28
2610.07:325:29
2710.07:315:30
2810.07:315:31
2910.07:305:32
3010.17:295:33
3110.17:295:34

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.48 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.18 kWh/m² to a high of 6.6 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 2.48 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.2Moderate
22.2Moderate
32.3Moderate
42.3Moderate
52.3Moderate
62.3Moderate
72.3Moderate
82.3Moderate
92.3Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.4Moderate
122.4Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.5Moderate
162.5Moderate
172.5Moderate
182.5Moderate
192.6Moderate
202.6Moderate
212.6Moderate
222.6Moderate
232.7Moderate
242.7Moderate
252.7Moderate
262.8Moderate
272.8Moderate
282.8Moderate
292.9Moderate
302.9Moderate
312.9Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Joplin?

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

1.0
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
11th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Joplin.

What to pack for Joplin in January

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

In January, Joplin sees daytime highs around 45°F and nights near 28°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 7 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Joplin 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 Joplin peaks around June 21 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 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 21UV 10Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Joplin 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 Joplin is worst in July — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (November, 6 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1516 µg/m³Nov 196 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb8Good
Mar12Good
Apr10Good
May12Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep10Good
Oct6Good
Nov6Good
Dec6Good
Location & terrain

Where is Joplin?

Joplin sits at 37.1°N, 94.5°W, 1,004 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Pittsburg, 25 mi away.

Topography around Joplin

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Joplin has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 177 ft around an average of 1,017 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 423 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,017 ft.

The land around Joplin is covered by artificial surfaces (40%), trees (38%) and grassland (21%) within 2 miles, trees (48%) and grassland (36%) within 10 miles, and grassland (43%), trees (31%) and cropland (23%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
177 ft
10 miles
423 ft
50 miles
1,017 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Pittsburg 25 mi · Bella Vista 43 mi · Bentonville 52 mi · Rogers 57 mi · Republic 57 mi · Siloam Springs 62 mi · Springdale 66 mi · Nixa 67 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 Joplin (37.0842°, -94.5133°, elevation 1,004 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).