Weather in Longyearbyen in January 2025
- January is usually the coldest month of the year in Longyearbyen;
- January is usually the driest month of the year in Longyearbyen
Average weather
Average temperature in Longyearbyen in January
The expected average maximum temperature in January is -3°C with a maximum of +3°C and a minimum of -16°C.
The average maximum temperature goes down 47% by the end of the month, compared with the beginning of the month, from +1°C to -8°C.
Is Longyearbyen warm or cold in January?
Longyearbyen is typically cold in January.
Maximum temperatures go down compared to the previous month from -10°C to -11°C. The minimum temperature also goes down from -15°C to -16°C.
Wear your winter warms as it will be cold. To save space, layer, and don’t forget gloves and a scarf.
January is the coldest month in Longyearbyen, here is the comparison with other months:
Climate in Longyearbyen in January
| December | January | February | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. temperature | ||||||
| -10°C | -11°C | -11°C | ||||
| Min. temperature | ||||||
| -35°C | -35°C | -40°C | ||||
| Max. temperature | ||||||
| +5°C | +5°C | +4°C | ||||
| Rainfall | ||||||
| 3 mm | 4 mm | 2 mm | ||||
| Wind | ||||||
| 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | ||||
| Humidity | ||||||
| 80% | 80% | 80% | ||||
| Air pressure | ||||||
| 1004 HPa | 1005 HPa | 1006 HPa | ||||
| Sunny days | ||||||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Cloudy days | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | 16 | ||||
| Rainy days | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Snowy days | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | 11 | ||||
January weather is still as ok as in December. It’s getting colder in January. From -10°C in the day, the average maximum temperature lowers to -11°C. Prepare for more rain. Average rainfall goes from 3 mm to 4 mm. Humidity levels don’t change as the month goes on, averaging around 80%. The average wind speed doesn’t change much during January, staying around 3 m/s. The good news is there are likely to be more sunny days in January, from 0 to 1.
February brings much the same weather, it remains ok.
Wind
The average wind speed is 7 m/s getting up to 12 m/s which is a medium breeze. You can feel it, especially getting out of the water.
The average wind speed in Longyearbyen is gradually decreasing during January, going from 11 m/s to 6 m/s over the course of the month.
Rain
Snow
January is one of the snowiest months in Longyearbyen.
Here’s how January is compared with other months in the amount of snow, total mm:
How was the weather last January in Longyearbyen?
Climate Change over Years
The climate in Longyearbyen in January has not changed much over the last 43 years.
The average temperature was the lowest in 1988 (-7°C) and the highest in 2016 (+1°C). The driest year was 1998 with only 51 mm of rainfall, and the wettest year was 2016 with 381 mm.
FAQ
Is January a good time to visit Longyearbyen?
Can you sunbathe in Longyearbyen in January?
Is Longyearbyen rainy in January?
Is it sunny in Longyearbyen in January?
Monthly weather in Longyearbyen
Source of the data
For this page, we’ve looked at the typical weather in Longyearbyen, based on historical hourly weather data from January 1, 1979, to December 31, 2022.
For past dates, we show actual recorded data at the location at that time. Forecasts are based on recorded weather during that day of the year, averaged over the total years for which we have records (unless stated otherwise). The daily temperature is the highest recorded temperature in the shadow during that day.