Whitefish weather in January

In January, Whitefish sees average daytime highs of 28°F and overnight lows near 15°F, with 3.1 in of precipitation across 14.9 wet days and about 8.6 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 26°F in the first days to 29°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Whitefish's 11th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Whitefish's year-round climate.

Daytime high
28°
11th warmest
Overnight low
15°
1st coldest
Precipitation
3.1 in
14.9 wet days
Daylight
8 h 30 min
8:31 AM – 5:02 PM
Cloud cover
78%
11th clearest
Wind
3 mph
12th windiest
Solar energy
1.21 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Whitefish is city in Flathead County, Montana, United States.

Density
229/km²
people per km²

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 26°F in the first days to 29°F by the end.

A typical January day in Whitefish reaches about 28°F in the afternoon and slips back to 15°F overnight — a 13°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°F and 37°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs on par with December and about 3°F cooler than February.

20°40°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
12613
22613
32614
42614
52614
62614
72614
82614
92714
102714
112714
122714
132715
142715
152815
162815
172815
182815
192815
202815
212815
222815
232815
242815
252815
262915
272915
282915
292915
302915
312915

How January really feels in Whitefish

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
28 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Whitefish weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan28° / 15°3.114.916.58.60.0
Feb31° / 15°2.512.413.49.90.0
Mar38° / 21°3.114.912.511.60.0
Apr48° / 28°2.813.76.913.41.6
May58° / 36°3.3142.1154.0
Jun66° / 43°3.8130.615.85.5
Jul76° / 49°1.15.6015.57.9
Aug76° / 48°1.15.4014.17.9
Sep65° / 41°1.97.30.312.46.3
Oct49° / 32°2.912.43.710.62.0
Nov36° / 23°3.514.912.690.0
Dec27° / 15°3.11415.98.20.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 81%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11981
21981
31981
41882
51882
61882
71783
81882
91882
101882
111783
121882
131882
141882
151882
161882
171981
181981
191981
202080
212080
222080
232179
242179
252179
262080
272179
282179
292179
302179
312179

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Whitefish gets around 3.1 in of rain and snow over 14.9 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 48% and peaks near 50% on the wettest days, and about 17 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14854
24955
35056
45056
55056
65056
75056
85056
95055
105055
115055
124955
134954
144954
154853
164853
174752
184751
194651
204651
214651
224651
234651
244651
254651
264651
274651
284550
294550
304550
314549

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 3 mph in January, the calmest month.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 3 mph on the calmest days to 3 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
13calm
23calm
33calm
43calm
53calm
63calm
73calm
83calm
93calm
103calm
113calm
123calm
133calm
143calm
153calm
163calm
173calm
183calm
193calm
203calm
213calm
223calm
233calm
243calm
253calm
263calm
273calm
283calm
293calm
303calm
313calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 12 min at the start of January to 9 h 06 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 8:35 AM to 8:17 AM, and sunset from 4:46 PM to 5:24 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.28:354:46
28.28:354:47
38.28:354:47
48.28:354:48
58.28:354:49
68.38:354:50
78.38:354:52
88.38:354:53
98.38:344:54
108.48:344:55
118.48:334:56
128.48:334:57
138.48:334:59
148.58:325:00
158.58:315:01
168.58:315:02
178.68:305:04
188.68:305:05
198.68:295:06
208.78:285:08
218.78:275:09
228.78:265:11
238.88:265:12
248.88:255:14
258.98:245:15
268.98:235:17
278.98:225:18
289.08:215:20
299.08:195:21
309.18:185:23
319.18:175:24

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.21 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.99 kWh/m² to a high of 7.24 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.21 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.0Dim
21.0Dim
31.0Dim
41.0Dim
51.1Dim
61.1Dim
71.1Dim
81.1Dim
91.1Dim
101.1Dim
111.1Dim
121.1Dim
131.1Dim
141.2Dim
151.2Dim
161.2Dim
171.2Dim
181.2Dim
191.3Dim
201.3Dim
211.3Dim
221.3Dim
231.4Dim
241.4Dim
251.4Dim
261.5Dim
271.5Dim
281.5Dim
291.6Dim
301.6Dim
311.6Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Whitefish?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Whitefish.

What to pack for Whitefish in January

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

In January, Whitefish sees daytime highs around 28°F and nights near 15°F. Pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Whitefish 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 Whitefish peaks around July 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. 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 18UV 8Dec 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7High
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Whitefish 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 Whitefish is worst in September — around 50 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 14.6× the cleanest month (December, 3 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModeratePoorGoodSep 1049 µg/m³Dec 223 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb4Good
Mar6Good
Apr8Good
May10Good
Jun9Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug45Poor
Sep50Poor
Oct8Good
Nov6Good
Dec3Good
Location & terrain

Where is Whitefish?

Whitefish sits at 48.4°N, 114.3°W, 0 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Kalispell, 15 mi away.

Topography around Whitefish

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Whitefish has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 472 ft around an average of 3,081 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,216 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 8,248 ft.

The land around Whitefish is covered by trees (39%) and grassland (34%) within 2 miles, trees (68%) and grassland (20%) within 10 miles, and trees (75%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
472 ft
10 miles
4,216 ft
50 miles
8,248 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen
January weather nearby: Kalispell 15 mi · Cranbrook 99 mi · Missoula 107 mi · Lethbridge 112 mi · Coeur d'Alene 124 mi · Post Falls 130 mi · Spokane Valley 144 mi · Opportunity 144 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 Whitefish (48.4111°, -114.3376°, elevation 0 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).