Climate averages 1991–2020
Derry weather
in January.
A cold, moderately wet month: the coolest and the joint 6th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a cold month in Derry: daytime highs average 7.1°C and nights cool to about 3.0°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 87 mm of rain on roughly 16 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the joint 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 7 h 51 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lisburn (97 km away). In January its highs average 7.1°C, about as warm as Derry, with 77 mm of rain.
Among the 143 cities listed in the United Kingdom, Derry ranks joint 48th of 143 for the warmest January highs and joint 120th of 143 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 143 cities is 6.9°C; Derry is 0.2°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 0.5°C to 7.5°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 87 mm to 76 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
Derry climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 7.1°C3.0°C | 3.0°C | 87 | 16.4 | 7.88 h |
| February | 7.5°C3.0°C | 3.0°C | 76 | 15.1 | 9.610 h |
| March | 9.0°C3.7°C | 3.7°C | 75 | 15.6 | 11.812 h |
| April | 11.1°C5.1°C | 5.1°C | 74 | 15.4 | 14.114 h |
| May | 13.8°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 78 | 15.1 | 16.116 h |
| June | 15.9°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 87 | 15.5 | 17.317 h |
| July | 17.3°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 93 | 16.8 | 16.817 h |
| August | 17.1°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 94 | 16.7 | 15.015 h |
| September | 15.4°C10.4°C | 10.4°C | 75 | 14.2 | 12.813 h |
| October | 12.3°C8.0°C | 8.0°C | 88 | 15.5 | 10.511 h |
| November | 9.3°C5.4°C | 5.4°C | 90 | 16.6 | 8.58 h |
| December | 7.4°C3.4°C | 3.4°C | 90 | 15.8 | 7.37 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
- Lisburn in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 97 kmHigh 7.1°C · Low 3.2°C · 77 mm rain
- Belfast in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 99 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low 3.9°C · 77 mm rain
- Dublin in JanuaryIreland · 198 kmHigh 7.8°C · Low 3.5°C · 69 mm rain
- Tallaght in JanuaryIreland · 200 kmHigh 7.3°C · Low 3.0°C · 69 mm rain
- Paisley in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 204 kmHigh 6.1°C · Low 1.8°C · 125 mm rain
- Douglas in JanuaryIsle of Man · 205 kmHigh 8.1°C · Low 5.8°C · 97 mm rain
- Glasgow in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 215 kmHigh 5.8°C · Low 1.4°C · 116 mm rain
- East Kilbride in JanuaryUnited Kingdom · 215 kmHigh 5.2°C · Low 0.8°C · 116 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 Derry) is explained once on the Derry year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.