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January Weather in Barrow Alaska, United States

Daily high temperatures decrease by 3°F, from -4°F to -7°F, rarely falling below -26°F or exceeding 14°F. The lowest daily average high temperature is -8°F on January 25.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 3°F, from -15°F to -18°F, rarely falling below -36°F or exceeding 0°F. The lowest daily average low temperature is -19°F on January 26.

For reference, on July 26, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Barrow typically range from 36°F to 47°F, while on January 25, the coldest day of the year, they range from -19°F to -8°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in January in Barrow

Average High and Low Temperature in January in BarrowJan1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930303131-45°F-45°F-40°F-40°F-35°F-35°F-30°F-30°F-25°F-25°F-20°F-20°F-15°F-15°F-10°F-10°F-5°F-5°F0°F0°F5°F5°F10°F10°F15°F15°F20°F20°FDecFebJan 25-8°FJan 25-8°F-19°F-19°FJan 1-4°FJan 1-4°F-15°F-15°FJan 11-6°FJan 11-6°F-17°F-17°F
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on January. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in January in Barrow

Average Hourly Temperature in January in BarrowJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMDecFebfrigid
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Tosontsengel, Mongolia (3,381 miles away) and McMurdo Station, Antarctica (10,421 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Barrow (view comparison).

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The month of January in Barrow experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 95% throughout the month. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 96% on January 22.

The clearest day of the month is January 1, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 5% of the time.

For reference, on January 22, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 96%, while on June 10, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 30%.

Cloud Cover Categories in January in Barrow

Cloud Cover Categories in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%DecFebJun 1030%Jun 1030%Jan 15%Jan 15%Jan 315%Jan 315%Jan 115%Jan 115%Jan 215%Jan 215%mostly cloudyovercastpartly cloudymostly clear
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Barrow, the chance of a wet day over the course of January is essentially constant, remaining around 4% throughout.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 21% on August 3, and its lowest chance is 1% on March 20.

Probability of Precipitation in January in Barrow

Probability of Precipitation in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0%0.0%0.5%0.5%1.0%1.0%1.5%1.5%2.0%2.0%2.5%2.5%3.0%3.0%3.5%3.5%4.0%4.0%4.5%4.5%5.0%5.0%DecFebJan 203%Jan 203%Jan 14%Jan 14%Jan 313%Jan 313%Jan 114%Jan 114%snow
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day snowfall during January in Barrow is essentially constant, remaining about 1.3 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 3.7 inches or falling below -0.0 inches.

The lowest average 31-day accumulation is 1.3 inches on January 7.

Average Monthly Snowfall in January in Barrow

The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Due to its extreme latitude, Barrow experiences polar day (also known as the midnight Sun) during the summer and polar night during the winter. These are periods of time in which the sun is continuously above or below the horizon for more than one day. The precise start and end dates of polar day and night vary from year to year and depend on the precise location and elevation of the observer, and the local topography.

In the winter in Barrow during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 2.1 months, setting at 1:23 PM on November 18, and not rising again until 1:10 PM on January 23. As such, January begins the month in polar night, which ends before the month is out.

The longest day of the month is January 31, with 3 hours, 53 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in January in Barrow

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The latest sunrise of the month in Barrow is 1:10 PM on January 23 and the earliest sunrise is 1 hour, 26 minutes earlier at 11:44 AM on January 31.

The earliest sunset is 2:08 PM on January 23 and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 29 minutes later at 3:37 PM on January 31.

Daylight saving time is observed in Barrow during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during January, so the entire month is in daylight saving time.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in January in Barrow

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMDecFeb1:10 PM1:10 PMJan 232:08 PMJan 232:08 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day over the course of January. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in January in Barrow

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in January in BarrowJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMDecFeb00
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of January 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for January 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in January in Barrow

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in January in BarrowJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMDecFebDec 263:34 PMDec 263:34 PMJan 258:55 AMJan 258:55 AMFeb 92:00 PMFeb 92:00 PMFeb 243:31 AMFeb 243:31 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM3:54 PM3:54 PM10:19 AM10:19 AM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Jan 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
73%-1:33 PMWNW11:08 PMENE5:37 AMS251,600 mi
2
64%-1:04 PMW-6:15 AMS251,227 mi
3
50%1:01 AME12:36 PMW-6:54 AMS250,029 mi
4
45%2:57 AMESE12:05 PMWSW-7:34 AMS248,014 mi
5
35%5:05 AMSE11:24 AMSW-8:16 AMS245,264 mi
6
25%8:20 AMSSE9:44 AMS-9:02 AMS241,933 mi
7
17%9:54 AMS238,247 mi
8
9%10:52 AMS234,500 mi
9
4%11:57 AMS231,024 mi
10
0%1:05 PMS228,151 mi
11
0%2:13 PMS226,154 mi
12
3%3:17 PMS225,191 mi
13
9%1:54 PMSSE6:39 PMSW-4:16 PMS225,274 mi
14
17%12:56 PMESE9:29 PMWSW-5:09 PMS226,294 mi
15
28%12:18 PMESE11:52 PMW-5:59 PMS228,055 mi
16
39%11:45 AME--6:46 PMS230,323 mi
17
50%-2:11 AMWNW11:09 AMENE7:32 PMS232,873 mi
18
62%-4:42 AMNW10:21 AMNE8:19 PMS235,518 mi
19
72%9:07 PMS238,122 mi
20
81%9:58 PMS240,603 mi
21
89%10:51 PMS242,918 mi
22
95%11:43 PMS245,049 mi
23
97%--
24
98%12:35 AMS246,983 mi
25
100%1:24 AMS248,696 mi
26
100%2:10 AMS250,145 mi
27
97%-12:37 PMNW6:32 PMNE2:53 AMS251,261 mi
28
93%-11:55 AMWNW8:39 PMENE3:34 AMS251,955 mi
29
87%-11:24 AMWNW10:34 PME4:13 AMS252,127 mi
30
80%-10:56 AMW-4:51 AMS251,678 mi
31
72%12:27 AMESE10:26 AMWSW-5:30 AMS250,530 mi

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Barrow is essentially constant during January, remaining around 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels in January in Barrow

Humidity Comfort Levels in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%DecFebJan 10%Jan 10%Jan 310%Jan 310%Jan 110%Jan 110%Jan 210%Jan 210%drydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Barrow is essentially constant during January, remaining within 0.3 miles per hour of 13.8 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on January 10, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 14.1 miles per hour, while on June 30, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 10.5 miles per hour.

The highest daily average wind speed during January is 14.1 miles per hour on January 10.

Average Wind Speed in January in Barrow

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Barrow throughout January is predominantly from the east, with a peak proportion of 50% on January 9.

Wind Direction in January in Barrow

Wind Direction in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%DecFebwesteastnorthsouth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Barrow is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Barrow is essentially constant during January, remaining around 29°F throughout.

The lowest average surface water temperature during January is 29°F on January 25.

Average Water Temperature in January in Barrow

Average Water Temperature in January in BarrowJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313128.4°F28.4°F28.6°F28.6°F28.8°F28.8°F29.0°F29.0°F29.2°F29.2°F29.4°F29.4°F29.6°F29.6°F29.8°F29.8°F30.0°F30.0°FDecFebJan 2529°FJan 2529°FJan 129°FJan 129°FJan 1129°FJan 1129°F
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Barrow are sufficiently cold year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in January in Barrow

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%DecFeb0%Jan 160%Jan 16frigidfreezing
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Barrow are essentially constant during January, remaining around 0°F throughout.

Growing Degree Days in January in Barrow

Growing Degree Days in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0°F0.0°F0.1°F0.1°F0.2°F0.2°F0.3°F0.3°F0.4°F0.4°F0.5°F0.5°F0.6°F0.6°F0.7°F0.7°F0.8°F0.8°F0.9°F0.9°F1.0°F1.0°FDecFebJan 10°FJan 10°FJan 310°FJan 310°FJan 110°FJan 110°FJan 210°FJan 210°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of January, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Barrow is essentially constant during January, remaining around 0.0 kWh throughout.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in January in Barrow

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in January in BarrowJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 kWh0.0 kWh0.1 kWh0.1 kWh0.2 kWh0.2 kWh0.3 kWh0.3 kWh0.4 kWh0.4 kWh0.5 kWh0.5 kWh0.6 kWh0.6 kWh0.7 kWh0.7 kWhDecFebJan 10.0 kWhJan 10.0 kWhJan 310.0 kWhJan 310.0 kWhJan 110.0 kWhJan 110.0 kWhJan 210.0 kWhJan 210.0 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Barrow are 71.291 deg latitude, -156.789 deg longitude, and 10 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Barrow is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 56 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 13 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (79 feet). Within 50 miles is essentially flat (108 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Barrow is covered by water (52%), sparse vegetation (21%), grassland (14%), and bare soil (12%), within 10 miles by water (64%) and grassland (20%), and within 50 miles by water (74%) and herbaceous vegetation (10%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Barrow, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Barrow.

At a distance of 1 kilometers from Barrow, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Barrow according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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