Moses Lake weather in January

In January, Moses Lake sees average daytime highs of 37°F and overnight lows near 26°F, with 1.4 in of precipitation across 8.5 wet days and about 8.7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 35°F in the first days to 40°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 Moses Lake's 12th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Moses Lake's year-round climate.

Daytime high
37°
11th warmest
Overnight low
26°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
1.4 in
8.5 wet days
Daylight
8 h 42 min
7:46 AM – 4:27 PM
Cloud cover
70%
12th clearest
Wind
6 mph
12th windiest
Solar energy
1.45 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Moses Lake is city in Grant County, Washington, United States.

Density
455/km²
people per km²
Founded
1938

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 35°F in the first days to 40°F by the end.

A typical January day in Moses Lake reaches about 37°F in the afternoon and slips back to 26°F overnight — a 11°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 26°F and 47°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 7°F cooler than February.

10°20°30°40°50°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
13525
23525
33525
43525
53525
63525
73625
83625
93626
103626
113626
123626
133626
143726
153726
163726
173726
183727
193727
203727
213827
223827
233827
243827
253828
263928
273928
283928
294028
304028
314028

How January really feels in Moses Lake

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.

Moses Lake weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan37° / 26°1.48.54.18.70.0
Feb44° / 30°0.96.32100.9
Mar54° / 36°1.06.60.711.63.5
Apr64° / 44°0.75013.36.2
May74° / 52°0.74.6014.87.7
Jun81° / 58°0.53.6015.67.4
Jul90° / 64°0.21.4015.35.2
Aug88° / 63°0.21.20145.6
Sep78° / 55°0.31.9012.48.2
Oct62° / 44°0.95.5010.65.9
Nov46° / 34°1.38.41.69.11.4
Dec37° / 26°1.69.14.88.40.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in January, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 68%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23268
33268
43268
53169
63169
73169
83169
93070
103169
113070
123070
133070
142971
152971
163169
173169
183169
193169
203268
213268
223268
233367
243367
253367
263466
273565
283565
293664
303664
313664

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Moses Lake gets around 1.4 in of rain and snow over 8.5 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 27% and peaks near 29% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12918
22917
32917
42916
52916
62915
72915
82915
92915
102915
112914
122915
132915
142914
152914
162914
172914
182814
192813
202713
212713
222712
232612
242612
252611
262511
272410
282410
29239
30239
31239

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 6 mph in January, the calmest month.

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.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

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 7:50 AM to 7:33 AM, and sunset from 4:11 PM to 4:48 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.47:504:11
28.47:504:12
38.47:504:13
48.47:504:14
58.47:504:15
68.47:494:16
78.57:494:17
88.57:494:18
98.57:494:19
108.57:484:20
118.57:484:21
128.67:484:22
138.67:474:23
148.67:474:25
158.77:464:26
168.77:464:27
178.77:454:28
188.87:454:30
198.87:444:31
208.87:434:32
218.97:424:34
228.97:424:35
238.97:414:36
249.07:404:38
259.07:394:39
269.07:384:41
279.17:374:42
289.17:364:44
299.27:354:45
309.27:344:47
319.37:334:48

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.45 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.23 kWh/m² to a high of 7.83 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.45 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.3Dim
21.3Dim
31.3Dim
41.3Dim
51.3Dim
61.3Dim
71.3Dim
81.3Dim
91.3Dim
101.3Dim
111.4Dim
121.4Dim
131.4Dim
141.4Dim
151.4Dim
161.4Dim
171.4Dim
181.5Dim
191.5Dim
201.5Dim
211.6Dim
221.6Dim
231.6Dim
241.6Dim
251.7Dim
261.7Dim
271.7Dim
281.8Dim
291.8Dim
301.8Dim
311.9Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Moses Lake?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Moses Lake.

What to pack for Moses Lake in January

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

In January, Moses Lake sees daytime highs around 37°F and nights near 26°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 17UV 8Dec 17UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul9Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Moses Lake 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 Moses Lake is worst in August — around 32 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.4× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1930 µg/m³Dec 197 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb9Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May9Good
Jun9Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug32Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov10Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Moses Lake?

Moses Lake sits at 47.1°N, 119.3°W, 1,070 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Wenatchee, 52 mi away.

Topography around Moses Lake

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Moses Lake has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 174 ft around an average of 1,109 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 476 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,531 ft.

The land around Moses Lake is covered by artificial surfaces (35%) and grassland (30%) within 2 miles, cropland (43%) and grassland (38%) within 10 miles, and grassland (52%) and cropland (43%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
174 ft
10 miles
476 ft
50 miles
5,531 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Wenatchee 52 mi · Richland 58 mi · Ellensburg 60 mi · Tri-Cities 62 mi · Pasco 62 mi · Kennewick 64 mi · Sunnyside 66 mi · Yakima 68 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 Moses Lake (47.1301°, -119.2781°, elevation 1,070 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).