Watertown weather in January

In January, Watertown sees average daytime highs of 21°F and overnight lows near 6°F, with 0.9 in of precipitation across 5.2 wet days and about 9 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 36 min at the start of January to 9 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Watertown's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Watertown's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 1st coldest
Precipitation: 0.9 in; 5.2 wet days
Daylight: 9 hours; 8:09 AM – 5:06 PM
Cloud cover: 67%; 11th clearest
Wind: 12 mph; 1st windiest
Solar energy: 1.97 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.0; out of 10

Watertown is city in and county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States.

Density: 329/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1879

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

← December Watertown 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 21°F through the month.

A typical January day in Watertown reaches about 21°F in the afternoon and slips back to 6°F overnight — a 15°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°F and 37°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 5°F cooler than 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)	22	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	23
Avg low (°F)	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7

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

How January really feels in Watertown

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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

31 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Watertown weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 12th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	21° / 6°	0.9	5.2	5.4	9	0.0
Feb	25° / 10°	0.8	4.6	4.6	10.1	0.0
Mar	38° / 21°	1.6	6	3.8	11.6	0.2
Apr	53° / 33°	2.8	9.5	3	13.2	3.0
May	66° / 46°	3.4	11.4	0.1	14.6	5.7
Jun	75° / 57°	4.4	12.2	0	15.3	6.5
Jul	80° / 62°	3.1	9.4	0	15.1	6.9
Aug	78° / 59°	3.2	9.3	0	13.9	7.1
Sep	71° / 50°	2.5	8	0	12.3	7.0
Oct	56° / 37°	2.2	6.9	1.2	10.7	4.1
Nov	40° / 24°	1.3	5	3.6	9.4	0.4
Dec	26° / 13°	0.9	5	5.4	8.7	0.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 63%.

	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 (%)	38	38	38	40	40	40	40	40	40	39	39	38	38	37	36	34	34	34	33	33	33	34	34	34	35	35	36	37	37	38	39
Cloudier (%)	62	62	62	60	60	60	60	60	60	61	61	62	62	63	64	66	66	66	67	67	67	66	66	66	65	65	64	63	63	62	61

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	40	60
7	40	60
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	34	66
17	34	66
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	34	66
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	36	64
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	38	62
31	39	61

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Watertown gets around 0.9 in of rain and snow over 5.2 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 17% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow.

	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 (%)	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15
Snow chance (%)	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16

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

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 (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in January

Winds average 12 mph in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 11 mph on the calmest days to 12 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)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	11	light breeze
2	11	light breeze
3	11	light breeze
4	11	light breeze
5	11	light breeze
6	11	light breeze
7	11	light breeze
8	11	light breeze
9	11	light breeze
10	11	light breeze
11	11	light breeze
12	11	light breeze
13	11	light breeze
14	11	light breeze
15	11	light breeze
16	11	light breeze
17	12	light breeze
18	12	light breeze
19	12	light breeze
20	12	light breeze
21	12	light breeze
22	12	light breeze
23	12	light breeze
24	12	light breeze
25	12	light breeze
26	12	light breeze
27	12	light breeze
28	12	light breeze
29	11	light breeze
30	11	light breeze
31	11	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 36 min at the start of January to 9 h 30 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 8:12 AM to 7:58 AM, and sunset from 4:51 PM to 5:26 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)	8.6	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.7	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.9	8.9	8.9	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.4	9.4	9.5
Sunrise (AM)	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:12	8:11	8:11	8:11	8:11	8:10	8:10	8:09	8:09	8:08	8:08	8:07	8:06	8:06	8:05	8:04	8:03	8:02	8:02	8:01	8:00	7:59	7:58
Sunset (PM)	4:51	4:52	4:53	4:54	4:55	4:55	4:56	4:57	4:58	5:00	5:01	5:02	5:03	5:04	5:05	5:06	5:07	5:09	5:10	5:11	5:12	5:14	5:15	5:16	5:18	5:19	5:20	5:22	5:23	5:24	5:26

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	8.6	8:12	4:51
2	8.7	8:12	4:52
3	8.7	8:12	4:53
4	8.7	8:12	4:54
5	8.7	8:12	4:55
6	8.7	8:12	4:55
7	8.7	8:12	4:56
8	8.8	8:12	4:57
9	8.8	8:12	4:58
10	8.8	8:11	5:00
11	8.8	8:11	5:01
12	8.8	8:11	5:02
13	8.9	8:11	5:03
14	8.9	8:10	5:04
15	8.9	8:10	5:05
16	9.0	8:09	5:06
17	9.0	8:09	5:07
18	9.0	8:08	5:09
19	9.0	8:08	5:10
20	9.1	8:07	5:11
21	9.1	8:06	5:12
22	9.1	8:06	5:14
23	9.2	8:05	5:15
24	9.2	8:04	5:16
25	9.2	8:03	5:18
26	9.3	8:02	5:19
27	9.3	8:02	5:20
28	9.3	8:01	5:22
29	9.4	8:00	5:23
30	9.4	7:59	5:24
31	9.5	7:58	5:26

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.97 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.56 kWh/m² to a high of 6.64 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.97 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)	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.4
Level	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	1.7	Dim
2	1.7	Dim
3	1.7	Dim
4	1.7	Dim
5	1.7	Dim
6	1.8	Dim
7	1.8	Dim
8	1.8	Dim
9	1.8	Dim
10	1.8	Dim
11	1.9	Dim
12	1.9	Dim
13	1.9	Dim
14	1.9	Dim
15	1.9	Dim
16	1.9	Dim
17	2.0	Dim
18	2.0	Moderate
19	2.0	Moderate
20	2.0	Moderate
21	2.1	Moderate
22	2.1	Moderate
23	2.1	Moderate
24	2.2	Moderate
25	2.2	Moderate
26	2.2	Moderate
27	2.3	Moderate
28	2.3	Moderate
29	2.4	Moderate
30	2.4	Moderate
31	2.4	Moderate

Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Watertown

In seasonPeak

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

Watertown sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Watertown's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Atlantic hurricane

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is January a good time to visit Watertown?

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

8th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Watertown.

What to pack for Watertown in January

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

In January, Watertown sees daytime highs around 21°F and nights near 6°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 5 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Watertown 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 Watertown peaks around June 19 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	2	4	5	6	9	8	6	6	4	2	1
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	High	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	5	Moderate
May	6	High
Jun	9	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	6	High
Sep	6	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Watertown?

Watertown sits at 44.9°N, 97.1°W, 1,732 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Brookings, 43 mi away.

Topography around Watertown

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Watertown has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 115 ft around an average of 1,736 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 344 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,237 ft.

The land around Watertown is covered by grassland (38%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 2 miles, cropland (58%) and grassland (28%) within 10 miles, and cropland (62%) and grassland (29%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

115 ft

grassland 38%

10 miles

344 ft

cropland 58%

50 miles

1,237 ft

cropland 62%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

January weather nearby: Brookings 43 mi · Aberdeen 78 mi · Mitchell 94 mi · Sioux Falls 96 mi · Willmar 103 mi · West Fargo 137 mi · Moorhead 137 mi · Fargo 137 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 Watertown (44.8994°, -97.1151°, elevation 1,732 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	40	60
7	40	60
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	34	66
17	34	66
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	34	66
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	36	64
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	38	62
31	39	61

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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	40	60
7	40	60
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	34	66
17	34	66
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	34	66
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	36	64
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	38	62
31	39	61

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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	38	62
2	38	62
3	38	62
4	40	60
5	40	60
6	40	60
7	40	60
8	40	60
9	40	60
10	39	61
11	39	61
12	38	62
13	38	62
14	37	63
15	36	64
16	34	66
17	34	66
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	34	66
23	34	66
24	34	66
25	35	65
26	35	65
27	36	64
28	37	63
29	37	63
30	38	62
31	39	61

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

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