Climate averages 1991–2020
Memphis weather
in January.
A cool, 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 cool month in Memphis: daytime highs average 9.3°C and nights cool to about 0.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 98 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes January a wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 05 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Jonesboro (97 km away). In January its highs average 8.3°C, 1.0°C cooler than Memphis, with 93 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Memphis ranks joint 254th of 498 for the warmest January highs and joint 418th of 498 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 498 cities is 9.5°C; Memphis is 0.1°C cooler than that mean.
From January to February, average highs rise by 2.5°C to 11.8°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 98 mm to 104 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
Memphis climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | 9.3°C0.6°C | 0.6°C | 98 | 9.6 | 10.110 h |
| February | 11.8°C2.3°C | 2.3°C | 104 | 9.2 | 10.911 h |
| March | 16.5°C6.3°C | 6.3°C | 127 | 11.4 | 11.912 h |
| April | 21.6°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 122 | 10.0 | 13.113 h |
| May | 26.3°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 117 | 11.0 | 14.014 h |
| June | 30.5°C20.9°C | 20.9°C | 87 | 9.7 | 14.514 h |
| July | 32.0°C23.1°C | 23.1°C | 93 | 10.4 | 14.314 h |
| August | 31.9°C22.6°C | 22.6°C | 75 | 8.5 | 13.513 h |
| September | 28.7°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 74 | 7.4 | 12.412 h |
| October | 22.7°C12.7°C | 12.7°C | 102 | 7.4 | 11.311 h |
| November | 15.7°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 101 | 8.5 | 10.410 h |
| December | 10.9°C2.4°C | 2.4°C | 126 | 9.7 | 9.810 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
- Jonesboro in JanuaryUnited States · 97 kmHigh 8.3°C · Low -0.1°C · 93 mm rain
- Little Rock in JanuaryUnited States · 209 kmHigh 10.1°C · Low 1.3°C · 89 mm rain
- Clarksville in JanuaryUnited States · 287 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low -0.7°C · 100 mm rain
- Franklin in JanuaryUnited States · 300 kmHigh 8.3°C · Low 0.0°C · 105 mm rain
- Tuscaloosa in JanuaryUnited States · 314 kmHigh 12.3°C · Low 3.0°C · 123 mm rain
- Nashville in JanuaryUnited States · 316 kmHigh 7.8°C · Low -0.6°C · 104 mm rain
- Jackson in JanuaryUnited States · 317 kmHigh 13.2°C · Low 3.6°C · 121 mm rain
- Huntsville in JanuaryUnited States · 319 kmHigh 9.7°C · Low 1.1°C · 129 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 Memphis) is explained once on the Memphis year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.