Monthly Climate
Menu

The coolest places in North America in January: ranked by average high temperature

Winnipeg tops the list at -11 °C in January. Ranked from 1991–2020 climate normals across 50 destinations in North America.

Top three in January: Winnipeg (-11 °C) , Nuuk (-11 °C) , Saskatoon (-9.7 °C) . Between first and 50th place the avg high differs by 15 °C.

# Destination Country Avg high Avg high Avg low Rainfall Wet days Sunshine Sea temp
1 Winnipeg Canada -11 °C -11 °C -20 °C 17 mm 4 171 h –
2 Nuuk Greenland -11 °C -11 °C -17 °C 60 mm 10 54 h 0 °C
3 Saskatoon Canada -9.7 °C -9.7 °C -19 °C 15 mm 5 164 h –
4 Regina Canada -8.5 °C -8.5 °C -18 °C 17 mm 5 176 h –
5 Edmonton Canada -7.3 °C -7.3 °C -16 °C 18 mm 5 162 h –
6 Greater Sudbury Canada -6.9 °C -6.9 °C -16 °C 53 mm 10 162 h –
7 Anchorage United States -6.6 °C -6.6 °C -11 °C 66 mm 12 96 h -0.7 °C
8 Québec Canada -6.6 °C -6.6 °C -15 °C 83 mm 11 170 h –
9 Montréal Canada -6.1 °C -6.1 °C -15 °C 74 mm 11 174 h –
10 Laval Canada -5.0 °C -5.0 °C -14 °C 73 mm 10 174 h –
11 Longueuil Canada -4.8 °C -4.8 °C -14 °C 73 mm 11 174 h –
12 Minneapolis United States -4.7 °C -4.7 °C -13 °C 24 mm 5 185 h –
13 Ottawa Canada -4.5 °C -4.5 °C -14 °C 73 mm 11 164 h –
14 Sioux Falls United States -3.1 °C -3.1 °C -12 °C 21 mm 5 208 h –
15 Madison United States -2.4 °C -2.4 °C -11 °C 40 mm 8 174 h –
16 Calgary Canada -2.3 °C -2.3 °C -12 °C 12 mm 3 187 h –
17 Kitchener Canada -2.1 °C -2.1 °C -9.9 °C 69 mm 11 155 h –
18 Brampton Canada -1.5 °C -1.5 °C -9.3 °C 60 mm 10 163 h –
19 Vaughan Canada -1.5 °C -1.5 °C -9.0 °C 62 mm 10 164 h –
20 Markham Canada -1.5 °C -1.5 °C -9.1 °C 63 mm 10 163 h –
21 Milwaukee United States -1.4 °C -1.4 °C -7.4 °C 50 mm 9 173 h –
22 London Canada -1.2 °C -1.2 °C -8.5 °C 73 mm 11 155 h –
23 Oshawa Canada -1.2 °C -1.2 °C -8.0 °C 67 mm 10 167 h –
24 Mississauga Canada -1.0 °C -1.0 °C -8.1 °C 68 mm 10 166 h –
25 Grand Rapids United States -0.9 °C -0.9 °C -7.7 °C 63 mm 11 138 h –
26 Des Moines United States -0.7 °C -0.7 °C -9.5 °C 30 mm 6 192 h –
27 Aurora United States -0.4 °C -0.4 °C -8.3 °C 55 mm 8 171 h –
28 Hamilton Canada -0.4 °C -0.4 °C -6.7 °C 70 mm 11 162 h –
29 Buffalo United States -0.4 °C -0.4 °C -6.4 °C 74 mm 12 153 h –
30 Chicago United States -0.2 °C -0.2 °C -7.0 °C 62 mm 9 172 h –
31 Detroit United States -0.2 °C -0.2 °C -7.0 °C 64 mm 10 170 h –
32 Halifax Canada 0.05 °C 0.05 °C -6.9 °C 115 mm 11 167 h 2.7 °C
33 Rochester United States 0.2 °C 0.2 °C -6.3 °C 83 mm 14 152 h –
34 Toledo United States 0.5 °C 0.5 °C -6.8 °C 65 mm 10 167 h –
35 Omaha United States 0.6 °C 0.6 °C -8.7 °C 26 mm 5 211 h –
36 Saint-Pierre Saint Pierre and Miquelon 0.6 °C 0.6 °C -3.2 °C 143 mm 17 107 h 2.0 °C
37 Fort Wayne United States 0.7 °C 0.7 °C -6.9 °C 68 mm 10 162 h –
38 Cleveland United States 1.1 °C 1.1 °C -5.3 °C 81 mm 13 156 h –
39 Worcester United States 1.1 °C 1.1 °C -7.0 °C 87 mm 9 199 h –
40 Akron United States 1.5 °C 1.5 °C -6.4 °C 81 mm 11 153 h –
41 Springfield United States 1.8 °C 1.8 °C -6.8 °C 87 mm 10 202 h –
42 Lincoln United States 1.8 °C 1.8 °C -7.6 °C 25 mm 5 220 h –
43 Boston United States 1.9 °C 1.9 °C -6.5 °C 93 mm 10 197 h 4.9 °C
44 Salt Lake City United States 2.5 °C 2.5 °C -6.6 °C 54 mm 10 229 h –
45 Spokane United States 2.6 °C 2.6 °C -4.1 °C 67 mm 12 151 h –
46 Indianapolis United States 2.6 °C 2.6 °C -5.3 °C 79 mm 10 171 h –
47 Columbus United States 2.7 °C 2.7 °C -5.4 °C 85 mm 11 167 h –
48 Providence United States 2.8 °C 2.8 °C -5.4 °C 92 mm 9 197 h –
49 Pittsburgh United States 3.1 °C 3.1 °C -5.0 °C 92 mm 12 152 h –
50 The Bronx United States 3.4 °C 3.4 °C -4.4 °C 86 mm 9 203 h 6.0 °C

Monthly values for the month named in the ranking; only destinations with a published climate page are ranked. Download this ranking as CSV.

The same ranking one month earlier and later

December: top 5

  1. San Miguel 34 °C
  2. Managua 32 °C
  3. Dessalines 31 °C
  4. Windhoek 30 °C
  5. Port-au-Prince 30 °C

Full ranking for December

February: top 5

  1. Nuuk -11 °C
  2. Winnipeg -8.3 °C
  3. Saskatoon -6.9 °C
  4. Regina -5.7 °C
  5. Greater Sudbury -5.3 °C

Full ranking for February

How this ranking is built

What is ranked
The average daily high temperature, in °C, in January, lowest first.
Period
1991–2020 climate normals: the same 30 years for every destination, so the list compares like with like.
Who is included
50 destinations in North America with a published climate page. Neighbouring places that share a climate series are shown once.
Ties
Equal values are ordered by population.
Sources
ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis via Open-Meteo; sea temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1. Measured values are reproduced unchanged; only the ordering is ours.

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: ranking order, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.