Climate averages 1991–2020
Leeuwarden weather
in January.
A cold, moderately wet month: the coolest and the joint 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a cold month in Leeuwarden: daytime highs average 5.2°C and nights cool to about 1.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 65 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the joint 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 8 h 09 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Groningen (50 km away). In January its highs average 4.9°C, about as warm as Leeuwarden, with 63 mm of rain.
Among the 44 cities listed in the Netherlands, Leeuwarden ranks joint 38th of 44 for the warmest January highs and joint 22nd of 44 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 44 cities is 5.6°C; Leeuwarden is 0.4°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 0.4°C to 5.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 65 mm to 50 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
Leeuwarden climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 5.2°C1.8°C | 1.8°C | 65 | 12.9 | 8.18 h |
| February | 5.7°C1.6°C | 1.6°C | 50 | 10.5 | 9.810 h |
| March | 8.3°C3.1°C | 3.1°C | 48 | 10.8 | 11.812 h |
| April | 11.9°C5.7°C | 5.7°C | 41 | 9.2 | 13.914 h |
| May | 15.3°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 57 | 10.8 | 15.816 h |
| June | 17.9°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 65 | 11.7 | 16.917 h |
| July | 20.2°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 78 | 13.2 | 16.416 h |
| August | 20.4°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 84 | 13.9 | 14.815 h |
| September | 17.5°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 75 | 12.8 | 12.713 h |
| October | 13.4°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 75 | 13.8 | 10.611 h |
| November | 9.0°C5.5°C | 5.5°C | 66 | 13.8 | 8.79 h |
| December | 6.1°C2.7°C | 2.7°C | 71 | 13.4 | 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
- Groningen in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 50 kmHigh 4.9°C · Low 0.8°C · 63 mm rain
- Zwolle in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 79 kmHigh 5.2°C · Low 0.8°C · 66 mm rain
- Lelystad in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 80 kmHigh 5.5°C · Low 1.6°C · 71 mm rain
- Alkmaar in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 95 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low 2.9°C · 68 mm rain
- Purmerend in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 96 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low 1.9°C · 62 mm rain
- Almere Stad in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 101 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low 1.4°C · 64 mm rain
- Zaanstad in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 107 kmHigh 5.8°C · Low 2.4°C · 69 mm rain
- Zaandam in JanuaryThe Netherlands · 108 kmHigh 5.8°C · Low 2.2°C · 69 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 Leeuwarden) is explained once on the Leeuwarden year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.