Climate averages 1991–2020
Cincinnati weather
in January.
A cold, moderately wet month: the coolest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a cold month in Cincinnati: daytime highs average 3.5°C and nights cool to about -4.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 83 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 45 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dayton (76 km away). In January its highs average 2.3°C, 1.2°C cooler than Cincinnati, with 82 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Cincinnati ranks joint 353rd of 498 for the warmest January highs and joint 296th of 498 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 498 cities is 9.5°C; Cincinnati is 5.9°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 2.4°C to 5.9°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 83 mm to 75 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
Cincinnati climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 3.5°C-4.8°C | -4.8°C | 83 | 10.1 | 9.810 h |
| February | 5.9°C-3.5°C | -3.5°C | 75 | 9.1 | 10.711 h |
| March | 11.2°C1.0°C | 1.0°C | 105 | 10.9 | 11.912 h |
| April | 17.7°C6.8°C | 6.8°C | 118 | 12.2 | 13.213 h |
| May | 22.4°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 117 | 13.0 | 14.314 h |
| June | 27.0°C17.3°C | 17.3°C | 106 | 12.1 | 14.915 h |
| July | 28.9°C19.5°C | 19.5°C | 88 | 11.3 | 14.615 h |
| August | 28.5°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 75 | 9.8 | 13.714 h |
| September | 25.0°C15.2°C | 15.2°C | 68 | 7.9 | 12.512 h |
| October | 18.4°C8.9°C | 8.9°C | 75 | 8.2 | 11.211 h |
| November | 11.3°C2.8°C | 2.8°C | 84 | 8.9 | 10.110 h |
| December | 5.6°C-1.9°C | -1.9°C | 92 | 10.2 | 9.59 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
- Dayton in JanuaryUnited States · 76 kmHigh 2.3°C · Low -5.5°C · 82 mm rain
- Lexington in JanuaryUnited States · 127 kmHigh 5.3°C · Low -2.9°C · 93 mm rain
- Muncie in JanuaryUnited States · 140 kmHigh 1.2°C · Low -6.9°C · 77 mm precipitation
- Louisville in JanuaryUnited States · 145 kmHigh 5.2°C · Low -2.9°C · 91 mm rain
- Indianapolis in JanuaryUnited States · 158 kmHigh 1.9°C · Low -6.0°C · 80 mm precipitation
- Fishers in JanuaryUnited States · 158 kmHigh 1.7°C · Low -6.4°C · 79 mm precipitation
- Columbus in JanuaryUnited States · 160 kmHigh 2.2°C · Low -6.1°C · 84 mm rain
- Carmel in JanuaryUnited States · 167 kmHigh 1.6°C · Low -6.4°C · 79 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 Cincinnati) is explained once on the Cincinnati year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.