Washington weather in January

In January, Washington sees average daytime highs of 48°F and overnight lows near 28°F, with 1.6 in of precipitation across 5.4 wet days and about 9.7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 46°F in the first days to 50°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% 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 Washington's 10th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Washington's year-round climate.

Daytime high
48°
11th warmest
Overnight low
28°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
1.6 in
5.4 wet days
Daylight
9 h 42 min
7:52 AM – 5:35 PM
Cloud cover
44%
10th clearest
Wind
5 mph
5th windiest
Solar energy
2.99 kWh/m²
Travel score
2.1
out of 10

Washington is city in Washingon County, Utah, United States.

Density
285/km²
people per km²
Founded
1857

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 46°F in the first days to 50°F by the end.

A typical January day in Washington reaches about 48°F in the afternoon and slips back to 28°F overnight — a 20°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 38°F and 58°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 4°F cooler than February.

20°40°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
14627
24627
34627
44627
54627
64727
74727
84727
94728
104728
114728
124728
134828
144828
154828
164828
174828
184828
194828
204928
214928
224928
234928
244928
254929
264929
274929
285029
295029
305029
315029

How January really feels in Washington

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.

Washington 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
Jan48° / 28°1.65.42.89.72.1
Feb52° / 31°1.86.33.110.63.2
Mar60° / 38°1.45.81.811.75.6
Apr68° / 44°0.73.70.712.97.5
May78° / 53°0.42.20148.3
Jun89° / 62°0.10.7014.55.6
Jul94° / 70°0.21.2014.33.7
Aug92° / 68°0.31.7013.44.3
Sep84° / 59°0.41.9012.37.2
Oct71° / 46°0.72.90.1118.3
Nov57° / 35°0.93.30.9105.1
Dec47° / 28°1.34.92.79.51.8

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 37%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15941
26040
36040
46040
56040
66139
76139
86139
96337
106337
116337
126436
136436
146535
156535
166634
176634
186535
196535
206535
216436
226436
236337
246337
256337
266337
276337
286238
296238
306238
316139

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Washington gets around 1.6 in of rain and snow over 5.4 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 17% and peaks near 19% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11911
21911
31911
41911
51911
61911
71910
81910
91810
10189
11179
12178
13168
14168
15167
16157
17157
18157
19157
20168
21168
22168
23168
24168
25168
26168
27168
28168
29168
30168
31168

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 5 mph in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 5 mph on the calmest days to 5 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

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 7:53 AM to 7:45 AM, and sunset from 5:22 PM to 5:50 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.57:535:22
29.57:535:23
39.57:535:23
49.57:535:24
59.57:535:25
69.57:535:26
79.67:535:27
89.67:535:27
99.67:535:28
109.67:535:29
119.67:535:30
129.67:535:31
139.77:535:32
149.77:525:33
159.77:525:34
169.77:525:35
179.77:525:36
189.87:515:37
199.87:515:38
209.87:515:39
219.87:505:40
229.87:505:41
239.97:495:42
249.97:495:43
259.97:485:44
269.97:485:45
2710.07:475:46
2810.07:475:47
2910.07:465:48
3010.17:455:49
3110.17:455:50

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 2.99 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.73 kWh/m² to a high of 8.49 kWh/m² in June across the year — January's 2.99 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.8Moderate
22.8Moderate
32.8Moderate
42.8Moderate
52.8Moderate
62.8Moderate
72.8Moderate
82.8Moderate
92.9Moderate
102.9Moderate
112.9Moderate
122.9Moderate
132.9Moderate
143.0Moderate
153.0Moderate
163.0Moderate
173.0Moderate
183.0Moderate
193.1Moderate
203.1Moderate
213.1Moderate
223.2Moderate
233.2Moderate
243.2Moderate
253.3Moderate
263.3Moderate
273.3Moderate
283.4Moderate
293.4Moderate
303.4Moderate
313.5Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Washington?

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

2.1
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
11th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Washington.

What to pack for Washington in January

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

In January, Washington sees daytime highs around 48°F and nights near 28°F. Pack a warm layer. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Washington in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Washington peaks around July 15 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 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 highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 15UV 11Dec 18UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Washington?

Washington sits at 37.1°N, 113.5°W, 2,792 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Saint George, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around Washington

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Washington has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 787 ft around an average of 2,854 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,137 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,291 ft.

The land around Washington is covered by artificial surfaces (40%), shrubs (23%) and bare terrain (21%) within 2 miles, grassland (31%), bare terrain (27%) and shrubs (25%) within 10 miles, and shrubs (34%), grassland (28%) and trees (24%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
787 ft
10 miles
4,137 ft
50 miles
9,291 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
January weather nearby: Saint George 4.3 mi · Hurricane 12 mi · Mesquite 38 mi · Cedar City 45 mi · Grand Canyon 106 mi · Sunrise Manor 107 mi · Boulder City 108 mi · North Las Vegas 110 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 Washington (37.1305°, -113.5083°, elevation 2,792 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).