Climate averages 1991–2020
Orkney weather
in January.
A hot, wet month: the 2nd warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a hot month in Orkney: daytime highs average 29.0°C and nights cool to about 17.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 2nd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 97 mm of rain on roughly 14 days, which makes January a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 38 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Klerksdorp (14 km away). In January its highs average 28.8°C, about as warm as Orkney, with 101 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Orkney ranks joint 17th of 95 for the warmest January highs and joint 34th of 95 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 95 cities is 27.0°C; Orkney is 2.0°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs fall by 0.7°C to 28.3°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 97 mm to 77 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
Orkney climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 29.0°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 97 | 14.4 | 13.614 h |
| February | 28.3°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 77 | 12.4 | 13.013 h |
| March | 26.9°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 68 | 10.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 24.0°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 40 | 6.9 | 11.511 h |
| May | 21.5°C7.0°C | 7.0°C | 19 | 3.1 | 10.811 h |
| June | 18.6°C3.5°C | 3.5°C | 9.9 | 1.5 | 10.510 h |
| July | 18.8°C2.9°C | 2.9°C | 4.6 | 0.9 | 10.611 h |
| August | 22.1°C5.7°C | 5.7°C | 12 | 1.7 | 11.211 h |
| September | 26.6°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 15 | 3.0 | 11.912 h |
| October | 28.3°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 60 | 9.4 | 12.713 h |
| November | 28.7°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 73 | 11.2 | 13.413 h |
| December | 29.1°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 98 | 14.8 | 13.814 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
- Klerksdorp in JanuarySouth Africa · 14 kmHigh 28.8°C · Low 17.2°C · 101 mm rain
- Stilfontein in JanuarySouth Africa · 18 kmHigh 28.5°C · Low 17.0°C · 101 mm rain
- Bothaville in JanuarySouth Africa · 46 kmHigh 29.7°C · Low 17.5°C · 94 mm rain
- Potchefstroom in JanuarySouth Africa · 52 kmHigh 28.2°C · Low 17.2°C · 109 mm rain
- Parys in JanuarySouth Africa · 78 kmHigh 27.6°C · Low 16.6°C · 120 mm rain
- Kroonstad in JanuarySouth Africa · 93 kmHigh 28.6°C · Low 16.6°C · 101 mm rain
- Kutloanong in JanuarySouth Africa · 95 kmHigh 29.5°C · Low 17.2°C · 94 mm rain
- Odendaalsrus in JanuarySouth Africa · 99 kmHigh 29.5°C · Low 17.2°C · 94 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 Orkney) is explained once on the Orkney year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.