Climate averages 1991–2020
Riga weather
in January.
A freezing month with moderate precipitation: the coolest and the 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a freezing month in Riga: daytime highs average -0.8°C and nights cool to about -4.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 46 mm of precipitation on roughly 11 days, which makes January a month with moderate precipitation (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 7 h 29 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Šiauliai (123 km away). In January its highs average -1.2°C, about as warm as Riga, with 39 mm of precipitation.
Among the 2 cities listed in Latvia, Riga ranks 1st of 2 for the warmest January highs and 2nd of 2 for the driest January (precipitation, lowest first). The mean January high of those 2 cities is -1.5°C; Riga is 0.6°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 0.5°C to -0.4°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 46 mm to 39 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly precipitation
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
Riga climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | -0.8°C-4.9°C | -4.9°C | 46 | 11.2 | 7.57 h |
| February | -0.4°C-5.3°C | -5.3°C | 39 | 9.9 | 9.49 h |
| March | 3.9°C-2.7°C | -2.7°C | 38 | 9.7 | 11.812 h |
| April | 10.8°C2.3°C | 2.3°C | 41 | 9.2 | 14.214 h |
| May | 16.4°C7.8°C | 7.8°C | 52 | 10.3 | 16.516 h |
| June | 20.0°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 73 | 11.3 | 17.718 h |
| July | 22.4°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 70 | 11.7 | 17.217 h |
| August | 21.6°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 79 | 13.0 | 15.215 h |
| September | 16.6°C10.5°C | 10.5°C | 70 | 11.6 | 12.913 h |
| October | 10.0°C5.3°C | 5.3°C | 80 | 14.2 | 10.410 h |
| November | 4.4°C1.0°C | 1.0°C | 59 | 12.8 | 8.28 h |
| December | 0.8°C-2.6°C | -2.6°C | 49 | 12.0 | 6.97 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet 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
- Šiauliai in JanuaryLithuania · 123 kmHigh -1.2°C · Low -5.5°C · 39 mm precipitation
- Panevėžys in JanuaryLithuania · 136 kmHigh -1.0°C · Low -5.2°C · 38 mm precipitation
- Daugavpils in JanuaryLatvia · 190 kmHigh -2.1°C · Low -6.1°C · 41 mm precipitation
- Tartu in JanuaryEstonia · 223 kmHigh -2.2°C · Low -6.3°C · 40 mm precipitation
- Kaunas in JanuaryLithuania · 228 kmHigh -1.1°C · Low -5.5°C · 44 mm precipitation
- Klaipėda in JanuaryLithuania · 229 kmHigh 0.7°C · Low -2.7°C · 57 mm precipitation
- Vilnius in JanuaryLithuania · 261 kmHigh -1.6°C · Low -5.8°C · 45 mm precipitation
- Pskov in JanuaryRussia · 271 kmHigh -2.6°C · Low -6.8°C · 42 mm precipitation
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 Riga) is explained once on the Riga year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.