University Place weather in January

In January, University Place sees average daytime highs of 46°F and overnight lows near 39°F, with 6.5 in of precipitation across 17.1 wet days and about 8.7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 46°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 18 min at the start of January to 9 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is University Place's 11th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see University Place's year-round climate.

Daytime high
46°
11th warmest
Overnight low
39°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
6.5 in
17.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 42 min
7:59 AM – 4:40 PM
Cloud cover
77%
11th clearest
Wind
7 mph
3rd windiest
Solar energy
1.05 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.1
out of 10

University Place is city in Pierce County, Washington, United States.

Density
1,480/km²
people per km²
Founded
1888

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 46°F through the month.

A typical January day in University Place reaches about 46°F in the afternoon and slips back to 39°F overnight — a 7°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 40°F and 52°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 2°F cooler than February.

20°30°40°50°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
14539
24539
34539
44539
54539
64639
74639
84639
94639
104639
114639
124639
134639
144639
154639
164639
174639
184639
194639
204739
214739
224740
234740
244740
254740
264740
274740
284740
294740
304740
314740

University Place weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan46° / 39°6.517.11.58.71.1
Feb49° / 40°4.513.41.3101.6
Mar52° / 41°5.216.50.411.62.3
Apr57° / 45°3.913.6013.33.6
May63° / 50°2.410.1014.85.5
Jun68° / 54°1.67015.66.7
Jul74° / 58°0.62.9015.38.3
Aug75° / 59°0.940148.2
Sep69° / 55°2.07.1012.47.0
Oct60° / 49°4.412.6010.64.4
Nov51° / 43°7.2170.39.12.0
Dec46° / 39°6.816.61.38.31.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 77%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12377
22377
32377
42377
52575
62575
72575
82476
92476
102476
112377
122377
132377
142278
152278
162278
172377
182278
192278
202278
212278
222278
232278
242278
252377
262377
272377
282377
292476
302575
312575

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

University Place gets around 6.5 in of rain and snow over 17.1 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 54% and peaks near 56% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1556
2556
3566
4566
5566
6566
7566
8566
9566
10566
11566
12566
13565
14555
15555
16555
17544
18544
19544
20544
21543
22543
23543
24543
25543
26533
27533
28523
29523
30513
31513

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 7 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 6 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
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 18 min at the start of January to 9 h 12 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 8:03 AM to 7:46 AM, and sunset from 4:24 PM to 5:01 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.38:034:24
28.48:034:24
38.48:034:25
48.48:034:26
58.48:034:27
68.48:034:28
78.48:034:29
88.58:034:30
98.58:024:31
108.58:024:33
118.58:024:34
128.68:014:35
138.68:014:36
148.68:004:37
158.68:004:38
168.77:594:40
178.77:594:41
188.77:584:42
198.87:574:44
208.87:574:45
218.87:564:46
228.97:554:48
238.97:544:49
249.07:534:51
259.07:524:52
269.07:524:53
279.17:514:55
289.17:504:56
299.27:494:58
309.27:474:59
319.27:465:01

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.05 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.89 kWh/m² to a high of 6.22 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.05 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.9Dim
20.9Dim
30.9Dim
40.9Dim
50.9Dim
60.9Dim
70.9Dim
81.0Dim
91.0Dim
101.0Dim
111.0Dim
121.0Dim
131.0Dim
141.0Dim
151.0Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.1Dim
221.2Dim
231.2Dim
241.2Dim
251.2Dim
261.3Dim
271.3Dim
281.3Dim
291.3Dim
301.4Dim
311.4Dim
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for University Place

In seasonPeak

In January, University Place sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

University Place's rainy season runs October–April, 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 University Place?

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

1.1
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in University Place.

What to pack for University Place in January

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

In January, University Place sees daytime highs around 46°F and nights near 39°F. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in University Place 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 University Place peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 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 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in University Place 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 University Place is worst in September — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.4× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodGoodModerateGoodSep 1322 µg/m³Dec 177 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar12Moderate
Apr12Good
May11Good
Jun10Good
Jul10Good
Aug18Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct12Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is University Place?

University Place sits at 47.2°N, 122.6°W, 207 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Lakewood, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around University Place

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around University Place has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 502 ft around an average of 197 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 558 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 14,403 ft.

The land around University Place is covered by trees (37%), water (33%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 2 miles, trees (41%) and water (34%) within 10 miles, and trees (77%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
502 ft
10 miles
558 ft
50 miles
14,403 ft
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Lakewood 4.3 mi · Tacoma 5.0 mi · Parkland 8.1 mi · Spanaway 11 mi · Puyallup 12 mi · Federal Way 12 mi · Frederickson 13 mi · South Hill 15 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 University Place (47.2356°, -122.5504°, elevation 207 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).