Merced weather in January

In January, Merced sees average daytime highs of 58°F and overnight lows near 42°F, with 3.5 in of rain across 8.1 wet days and about 9.7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 57°F in the first days to 60°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% 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 Merced's 12th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Merced's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 58°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 42°; 2nd coldest
Rainfall: 3.5 in; 8.1 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 42 min; 7:20 AM – 5:02 PM
Cloud cover: 55%; 12th clearest
Wind: 4 mph; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 2.56 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.7; out of 10

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

Density: 1,365/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1889

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

← December Merced 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 57°F in the first days to 60°F by the end.

A typical January day in Merced reaches about 58°F in the afternoon and slips back to 42°F overnight — a 17°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 53°F and 65°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 4°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)	57	57	57	57	57	57	57	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	60	60	60	60	60	61	61
Avg low (°F)	40	40	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	43	43

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	57	40
2	57	40
3	57	41
4	57	41
5	57	41
6	57	41
7	57	41
8	58	41
9	58	41
10	58	41
11	58	41
12	58	41
13	58	41
14	58	42
15	58	42
16	58	42
17	58	42
18	59	42
19	59	42
20	59	42
21	59	42
22	59	42
23	59	42
24	59	42
25	60	42
26	60	42
27	60	42
28	60	42
29	60	42
30	61	43
31	61	43

How January really feels in Merced

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 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

wind chill below the day's low

January sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Merced weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	58° / 42°	3.5	8.1	9.7	4.7
Feb	63° / 44°	3.1	8.4	10.6	5.7
Mar	68° / 48°	2.8	7.7	11.7	6.8
Apr	75° / 52°	1.2	4.7	12.9	7.9
May	83° / 58°	0.7	2.8	14	7.1
Jun	92° / 64°	0.1	0.6	14.5	4.6
Jul	97° / 68°	0.0	0.2	14.3	2.8
Aug	95° / 67°	0.0	0.1	13.4	3.3
Sep	90° / 63°	0.1	0.4	12.3	5.4
Oct	79° / 55°	0.8	2.3	11	8.3
Nov	67° / 46°	1.5	4.8	10	7.1
Dec	58° / 41°	3.0	7.4	9.5	4.7

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 50%.

	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 (%)	49	49	48	49	49	49	50	50	50	50	51	51	51	52	52	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	50	50	50	50	51	51	51	51	51
Cloudier (%)	51	51	52	51	51	51	50	50	50	50	49	49	49	48	48	49	49	49	49	49	49	49	50	50	50	50	49	49	49	49	49

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	49	51
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	51	49
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	52	48
15	52	48
16	51	49
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	51	49
20	51	49
21	51	49
22	51	49
23	50	50
24	50	50
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	51	49
31	51	49

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Merced gets around 3.5 in of rain over 8.1 wet days in January, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 26% and peaks near 27% on the wettest days.

	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	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	25	26

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

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 (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

Wind in January

Winds average 4 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 4 mph on the calmest days to 5 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)	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
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	5	calm
2	5	calm
3	5	calm
4	5	calm
5	4	calm
6	4	calm
7	4	calm
8	4	calm
9	4	calm
10	4	calm
11	4	calm
12	4	calm
13	4	calm
14	4	calm
15	4	calm
16	4	calm
17	4	calm
18	4	calm
19	4	calm
20	4	calm
21	4	calm
22	4	calm
23	4	calm
24	4	calm
25	4	calm
26	4	calm
27	4	calm
28	4	calm
29	4	calm
30	4	calm
31	4	calm

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 7:21 AM to 7:13 AM, and sunset from 4:49 PM to 5:18 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)	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.9	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.1
Sunrise (AM)	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:22	7:22	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:20	7:20	7:20	7:19	7:19	7:19	7:18	7:18	7:17	7:17	7:16	7:16	7:15	7:14	7:14	7:13
Sunset (PM)	4:49	4:50	4:51	4:52	4:52	4:53	4:54	4:55	4:56	4:57	4:57	4:58	4:59	5:00	5:01	5:02	5:03	5:04	5:05	5:06	5:07	5:08	5:09	5:10	5:11	5:12	5:13	5:14	5:15	5:17	5:18

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.5	7:21	4:49
2	9.5	7:21	4:50
3	9.5	7:21	4:51
4	9.5	7:21	4:52
5	9.5	7:21	4:52
6	9.5	7:21	4:53
7	9.5	7:22	4:54
8	9.6	7:22	4:55
9	9.6	7:21	4:56
10	9.6	7:21	4:57
11	9.6	7:21	4:57
12	9.6	7:21	4:58
13	9.6	7:21	4:59
14	9.7	7:21	5:00
15	9.7	7:21	5:01
16	9.7	7:20	5:02
17	9.7	7:20	5:03
18	9.7	7:20	5:04
19	9.8	7:19	5:05
20	9.8	7:19	5:06
21	9.8	7:19	5:07
22	9.8	7:18	5:08
23	9.9	7:18	5:09
24	9.9	7:17	5:10
25	9.9	7:17	5:11
26	9.9	7:16	5:12
27	10.0	7:16	5:13
28	10.0	7:15	5:14
29	10.0	7:14	5:15
30	10.0	7:14	5:17
31	10.1	7:13	5:18

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.56 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.4 kWh/m² to a high of 8.29 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.56 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)	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.9	3.0	3.0
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.4	Moderate
2	2.4	Moderate
3	2.4	Moderate
4	2.4	Moderate
5	2.4	Moderate
6	2.4	Moderate
7	2.5	Moderate
8	2.5	Moderate
9	2.5	Moderate
10	2.5	Moderate
11	2.5	Moderate
12	2.5	Moderate
13	2.5	Moderate
14	2.5	Moderate
15	2.5	Moderate
16	2.6	Moderate
17	2.6	Moderate
18	2.6	Moderate
19	2.6	Moderate
20	2.7	Moderate
21	2.7	Moderate
22	2.7	Moderate
23	2.7	Moderate
24	2.8	Moderate
25	2.8	Moderate
26	2.8	Moderate
27	2.9	Moderate
28	2.9	Moderate
29	2.9	Moderate
30	3.0	Moderate
31	3.0	Moderate

Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Merced?

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

4.7

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.1

Beach & pool

12th-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Merced for sightseeing.

What to pack for Merced in January

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

In January, Merced sees daytime highs around 58°F and nights near 42°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Merced 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 Merced peaks around June 20 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	4	4	6	8	10	10	10	7	5	2	2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	7	High
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	2	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Air quality in Merced 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 Merced is worst in August — around 29 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (June, 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)	13	14	14	11	9	8	15	29	22	17	15	12
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	13	Moderate
Feb	14	Moderate
Mar	14	Moderate
Apr	11	Good
May	9	Good
Jun	8	Good
Jul	15	Moderate
Aug	29	Moderate
Sep	22	Moderate
Oct	17	Moderate
Nov	15	Moderate
Dec	12	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Merced?

Merced sits at 37.3°N, 120.5°W, 171 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Atwater, 7.5 mi away.

Topography around Merced

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Merced has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 62 ft around an average of 171 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 459 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,028 ft.

The land around Merced is covered by artificial surfaces (59%) and trees (21%) within 2 miles, grassland (38%), cropland (29%) and trees (23%) within 10 miles, and grassland (45%) and trees (31%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

62 ft

artificial surfaces 59%

10 miles

459 ft

grassland 38%

50 miles

7,028 ft

grassland 45%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

January weather nearby: Atwater 7.5 mi · Chowchilla 17 mi · Turlock 24 mi · Los Banos 26 mi · Ceres 33 mi · Madera 33 mi · Modesto 37 mi · Patterson 37 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 Merced (37.3022°, -120.483°, elevation 171 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	57	40
2	57	40
3	57	41
4	57	41
5	57	41
6	57	41
7	57	41
8	58	41
9	58	41
10	58	41
11	58	41
12	58	41
13	58	41
14	58	42
15	58	42
16	58	42
17	58	42
18	59	42
19	59	42
20	59	42
21	59	42
22	59	42
23	59	42
24	59	42
25	60	42
26	60	42
27	60	42
28	60	42
29	60	42
30	61	43
31	61	43

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	49	51
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	51	49
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	52	48
15	52	48
16	51	49
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	51	49
20	51	49
21	51	49
22	51	49
23	50	50
24	50	50
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	51	49
31	51	49

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	57	40
2	57	40
3	57	41
4	57	41
5	57	41
6	57	41
7	57	41
8	58	41
9	58	41
10	58	41
11	58	41
12	58	41
13	58	41
14	58	42
15	58	42
16	58	42
17	58	42
18	59	42
19	59	42
20	59	42
21	59	42
22	59	42
23	59	42
24	59	42
25	60	42
26	60	42
27	60	42
28	60	42
29	60	42
30	61	43
31	61	43

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	49	51
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	51	49
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	52	48
15	52	48
16	51	49
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	51	49
20	51	49
21	51	49
22	51	49
23	50	50
24	50	50
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	51	49
31	51	49

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	57	40
2	57	40
3	57	41
4	57	41
5	57	41
6	57	41
7	57	41
8	58	41
9	58	41
10	58	41
11	58	41
12	58	41
13	58	41
14	58	42
15	58	42
16	58	42
17	58	42
18	59	42
19	59	42
20	59	42
21	59	42
22	59	42
23	59	42
24	59	42
25	60	42
26	60	42
27	60	42
28	60	42
29	60	42
30	61	43
31	61	43

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	49	51
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	51	49
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	52	48
15	52	48
16	51	49
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	51	49
20	51	49
21	51	49
22	51	49
23	50	50
24	50	50
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	51	49
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	51	49
31	51	49

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1