Norfolk weather in January

In January, Norfolk sees average daytime highs of 32°F and overnight lows near 14°F, with 0.8 in of precipitation across 4.2 wet days and about 9.3 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 32°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 hours at the start of January to 9 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Norfolk's 9th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Norfolk's year-round climate.

Daytime high
32°
12th warmest
Overnight low
14°
1st coldest
Precipitation
0.8 in
4.2 wet days
Daylight
9 h 18 min
8:01 AM – 5:17 PM
Cloud cover
57%
9th clearest
Wind
10 mph
6th windiest
Solar energy
2.29 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Norfolk is city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States.

Density
786/km²
people per km²
Founded
1866

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 32°F through the month.

A typical January day in Norfolk reaches about 32°F in the afternoon and slips back to 14°F overnight — a 18°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°F and 49°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 3°F cooler than December and about 4°F cooler than February.

20°40°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
13114
23114
33114
43113
53113
63113
73113
83113
93113
103113
113113
123113
133113
143113
153213
163213
173214
183214
193214
203214
213214
223214
233214
243214
253314
263314
273315
283315
293315
303315
313315

How January really feels in Norfolk

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
31 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Norfolk weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan32° / 14°0.84.23.79.30.0
Feb36° / 17°0.954.310.30.0
Mar48° / 27°2.07.33.611.71.8
Apr60° / 38°3.610.31.913.14.6
May70° / 50°5.012.40.114.36.2
Jun81° / 61°4.411.30156.2
Jul85° / 65°2.88.6014.75.6
Aug83° / 62°3.29013.76.3
Sep76° / 53°2.67.2012.37.4
Oct62° / 40°2.57.40.810.95.8
Nov47° / 27°1.44.62.49.61.8
Dec35° / 17°1.14.53.990.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14951
24951
34951
45050
55050
65149
75149
85248
95347
105248
115248
125248
135248
145149
155050
165050
175050
185050
194951
204951
214852
224852
234753
244654
254654
264654
274753
284753
294753
304753
314753

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Norfolk gets around 0.8 in of rain and snow over 4.2 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 14% and peaks near 15% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11413
21412
31412
41412
51412
61312
71311
81311
91311
101311
111311
121311
131311
141311
151311
161312
171312
181412
191412
201413
211413
221413
231413
241413
251413
261513
271513
281514
291514
301514
311514

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 10 mph in January.

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

051015151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
110light breeze
210light breeze
310light breeze
410light breeze
510light breeze
610light breeze
710light breeze
810light breeze
910light breeze
1010light breeze
1110light breeze
1210light breeze
1310light breeze
1410light breeze
1510light breeze
1610light breeze
1710light breeze
1810light breeze
1910light breeze
2010light breeze
2110light breeze
2210light breeze
2310light breeze
2410light breeze
2510light breeze
2610light breeze
2710light breeze
2810light breeze
2910light breeze
3010light breeze
3110light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours at the start of January to 9 h 42 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 8:03 AM to 7:52 AM, and sunset from 5:02 PM to 5:34 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.08:035:02
29.08:035:03
39.08:035:04
49.08:035:05
59.08:035:06
69.18:035:07
79.18:035:08
89.18:035:08
99.18:035:09
109.18:035:10
119.18:035:11
129.28:035:12
139.28:025:13
149.28:025:14
159.28:025:16
169.38:015:17
179.38:015:18
189.38:005:19
199.38:005:20
209.47:595:21
219.47:595:22
229.47:585:23
239.57:585:25
249.57:575:26
259.57:565:27
269.57:565:28
279.67:555:30
289.67:545:31
299.67:535:32
309.77:525:33
319.77:525:34

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.29 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.93 kWh/m² to a high of 6.73 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 2.29 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.0Dim
22.0Moderate
32.0Moderate
42.0Moderate
52.1Moderate
62.1Moderate
72.1Moderate
82.1Moderate
92.1Moderate
102.2Moderate
112.2Moderate
122.2Moderate
132.2Moderate
142.3Moderate
152.3Moderate
162.3Moderate
172.3Moderate
182.3Moderate
192.4Moderate
202.4Moderate
212.4Moderate
222.4Moderate
232.5Moderate
242.5Moderate
252.5Moderate
262.5Moderate
272.6Moderate
282.6Moderate
292.6Moderate
302.7Moderate
312.7Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Norfolk

In seasonPeak

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

Norfolk's rainy season runs April–October, 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 Norfolk?

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
10th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Norfolk.

What to pack for Norfolk in January

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

In January, Norfolk sees daytime highs around 32°F and nights near 14°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Norfolk 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 Norfolk peaks around June 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 2 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 23UV 9Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep6High
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Norfolk?

Norfolk sits at 42.0°N, 97.4°W, 1,522 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Columbus, 42 mi away.

Topography around Norfolk

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Norfolk has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 190 ft around an average of 1,535 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 404 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,053 ft.

The land around Norfolk is covered by artificial surfaces (36%) and grassland (33%) within 2 miles, cropland (57%) and grassland (31%) within 10 miles, and cropland (79%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
190 ft
10 miles
404 ft
50 miles
1,053 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Columbus 42 mi · Sioux City 62 mi · Fremont 63 mi · Grand Island 90 mi · La Vista 93 mi · Omaha 93 mi · Papillion 93 mi · Lincoln 93 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 Norfolk (42.0283°, -97.417°, elevation 1,522 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).