Climate averages 1991–2020
Galway weather
in January.
A cool, wet month: the coolest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a cool month in Galway: daytime highs average 8.0°C and nights cool to about 3.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 99 mm of rain on roughly 15 days, which makes January a wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 8 h 08 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Limerick (73 km away). In January its highs average 8.1°C, about as warm as Galway, with 94 mm of rain.
Among the 5 cities listed in Ireland, Galway ranks 3rd of 5 for the warmest January highs and 5th of 5 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 5 cities is 8.0°C; Galway is level with that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 0.4°C to 8.5°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 99 mm to 85 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Galway climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 8.0°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 99 | 15.4 | 8.18 h |
| February | 8.5°C3.5°C | 3.5°C | 85 | 13.0 | 9.810 h |
| March | 9.9°C4.1°C | 4.1°C | 78 | 13.3 | 11.812 h |
| April | 12.2°C5.5°C | 5.5°C | 76 | 13.7 | 13.914 h |
| May | 14.8°C8.2°C | 8.2°C | 79 | 13.5 | 15.816 h |
| June | 16.9°C10.6°C | 10.6°C | 79 | 12.9 | 16.917 h |
| July | 18.0°C12.3°C | 12.3°C | 83 | 14.5 | 16.416 h |
| August | 17.8°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 91 | 14.0 | 14.815 h |
| September | 16.2°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 75 | 12.3 | 12.713 h |
| October | 13.1°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 95 | 14.0 | 10.611 h |
| November | 10.2°C5.8°C | 5.8°C | 101 | 14.3 | 8.79 h |
| December | 8.3°C4.1°C | 4.1°C | 104 | 15.2 | 7.68 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Limerick in JanuaryIreland · 73 kmHigh 8.1°C · Low 3.5°C · 94 mm rain
- Cork in JanuaryIreland · 158 kmHigh 8.7°C · Low 4.7°C · 79 mm rain
- Tallaght in JanuaryIreland · 178 kmHigh 7.3°C · Low 3.0°C · 69 mm rain
- Dublin in JanuaryIreland · 186 kmHigh 7.8°C · Low 3.5°C · 69 mm rain
- Derry in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 223 kmHigh 7.1°C · Low 3.0°C · 87 mm rain
- Lisburn in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 242 kmHigh 7.1°C · Low 3.2°C · 77 mm rain
- Belfast in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 252 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low 3.9°C · 77 mm rain
- Douglas in JanuaryIsle of Man · 316 kmHigh 8.1°C · Low 5.8°C · 97 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Galway) is explained once on the Galway year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.