Willmar weather in January

In January, Willmar 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 12th-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 22% 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 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Willmar's 11th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Willmar's year-round climate.

Daytime high
21°
12th warmest
Overnight low
1st coldest
Precipitation
0.9 in
5.2 wet days
Daylight
8 h 54 min
8:02 AM – 4:57 PM
Cloud cover
68%
11th clearest
Wind
10 mph
2nd windiest
Solar energy
1.94 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Willmar is city in Minnesota, USA.

Density
475/km²
people per km²
Founded
1871

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 21°F through the month.

A typical January day in Willmar 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 36°F. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 5°F cooler than December and about 4°F cooler than February.

-20°20°40°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
1228
2228
3227
4217
5217
6216
7216
8216
9206
10206
11205
12205
13205
14205
15205
16205
17205
18205
19205
20205
21215
22216
23216
24216
25216
26216
27226
28226
29227
30227
31227

How January really feels in Willmar

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.

Willmar 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
Jan21° / 0.95.25.490.0
Feb26° / 10°0.954.410.10.0
Mar39° / 22°1.87.24.111.60.3
Apr55° / 35°3.19.92.513.23.4
May68° / 48°4.112.10.114.65.9
Jun77° / 59°5.412.6015.46.3
Jul81° / 63°3.79.7015.16.7
Aug79° / 60°3.89.3013.97.0
Sep71° / 51°3.38.8012.36.9
Oct57° / 39°2.58.10.710.74.3
Nov40° / 25°1.65.73.59.30.5
Dec26° / 12°1.15.55.58.60.0

Cloud cover in January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% 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 65%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33664
43664
53664
63763
73763
83763
93763
103763
113763
123763
133664
143664
153466
163466
173466
183466
193466
203466
213466
223367
233367
243367
253466
263466
273466
283466
293466
303565
313664

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Willmar gets around 0.9 in of rain and snow over 5.2 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 17% and peaks near 18% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
11615
21615
31615
41615
51616
61616
71716
81716
91717
101717
111717
121718
131718
141719
151819
161820
171820
181820
191820
201820
211819
221819
231719
241719
251718
261718
271718
281718
291717
301717
311717

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 8 h 36 min at the start of January to 9 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 48 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 8:05 AM to 7:50 AM, and sunset from 4:42 PM to 5:17 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.68:054:42
28.68:054:43
38.68:054:44
48.78:054:44
58.78:054:45
68.78:054:46
78.78:054:47
88.78:044:48
98.88:044:49
108.88:044:50
118.88:044:52
128.88:034:53
138.88:034:54
148.98:034:55
158.98:024:56
168.98:024:57
179.08:014:58
189.08:015:00
199.08:005:01
209.07:595:02
219.17:595:03
229.17:585:05
239.17:575:06
249.27:575:07
259.27:565:09
269.37:555:10
279.37:545:11
289.37:535:13
299.47:525:14
309.47:515:15
319.47:505:17

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 1.94 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.53 kWh/m² to a high of 6.44 kWh/m² in July across the year — January's 1.94 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

0123151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.6Dim
21.6Dim
31.6Dim
41.7Dim
51.7Dim
61.7Dim
71.7Dim
81.8Dim
91.8Dim
101.8Dim
111.8Dim
121.8Dim
131.9Dim
141.9Dim
151.9Dim
161.9Dim
171.9Dim
182.0Dim
192.0Dim
202.0Moderate
212.0Moderate
222.1Moderate
232.1Moderate
242.1Moderate
252.2Moderate
262.2Moderate
272.3Moderate
282.3Moderate
292.3Moderate
302.4Moderate
312.4Moderate
Planning a trip in January

Hazard calendar for Willmar

In seasonPeak

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

Willmar'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 Willmar?

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 Willmar.

What to pack for Willmar in January

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

In January, Willmar 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 Willmar 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 Willmar peaks around June 20 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 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 highHighModerateLowJun 20UV 8Jan 11UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun9Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Willmar?

Willmar sits at 45.1°N, 95.0°W, 1,142 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Saint Cloud, 52 mi away.

Topography around Willmar

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Willmar has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 105 ft around an average of 1,132 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 230 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 692 ft.

The land around Willmar is covered by trees (23%), grassland (22%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, cropland (62%) within 10 miles, and cropland (74%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
105 ft
10 miles
230 ft
50 miles
692 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
January weather nearby: Saint Cloud 52 mi · Sartell 53 mi · Buffalo 57 mi · Saint Michael 67 mi · Otsego 71 mi · Elk River 73 mi · Chaska 74 mi · Chanhassen 76 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 Willmar (45.1219°, -95.0433°, elevation 1,142 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).