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Climate · Washington DC

Washington DC in January

Chilly and damp, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

January in Washington DC is chilly: highs near 47°F, lows near 30°F. Rain or snow falls on about two days a week, and the days lengthen by 27 minutes from the first week to the last.January in Washington DC is chilly: highs near 8°C, lows near -1°C. Rain or snow falls on about two days a week, and the days lengthen by 27 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
47°F8°Caverage
Low
30°F-1°Caverage
Wet days
2a week · 32% of days
Daylight
9h 46mon average

Is January a good time to visit Washington DC?

January sits outside Washington DC's best months, which run in two parts: May, or October. Expect chilly days and rain or snow on about two days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How January sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 47°F in January, against 47°F to 91°F through the year.Highs near 8°C in January, against 8°C to 33°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

32% of days in January, against 26% to 40% through the year.

Cloud cover

55% cover in January, against 36% to 55% through the year.

Daylight

9h 46m in January, against 9h 29m to 14h 51m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with January shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. December51°11°low 33°low 1°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  2. January47°8°low 30°low -1°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  3. February49°9°low 29°low -2°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.

Where Washington DC sits, in January

America/New York
this place
typical high in January 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-January
7:25 AMsets 5:08 PM
Above the sea
0 mlow-lying
Latitude
38.9°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
New York328 km north-east

The land around Washington DC, shaded by its typical high in January, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in United States in January

high · low · wet days
See January on the planning mapThe whole year in Washington DC

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Washington DC. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.