Weather in Bathurst in January

A good month. January is a solid month to be in Bathurst. Highs average 30.5 °C, lows 16 °C, and rain falls on 10 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

January ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Bathurst's year. April is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 29 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one. Worth keeping in perspective: January is the weakest month of Bathurst's year and it is still a perfectly good one. The downside here is small.

Rain on 10 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 30.5 °C days and 16 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 5 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 40.5 °C and the coldest night fell to 5.7 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 50 mm — roughly 79% of the month's rain in one day.

January is moderately variable: 25 mm in the driest year against 126 mm in the wettest, around an average of 63 mm. Roughly two Januarys in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 2.5 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 55%.

How January sits in the year

This is a turning point in the year — December and February sit on opposite sides of it, so the month contains the change rather than following it.

Daylight in January

January is at or near the longest days of Bathurst's year: 14.1 hours of daylight, losing 0.6 hours across the month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 27.5 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage. Within January itself the daily swing is 14.5 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

How busy it gets

Quiet. Few other visitors, cheaper rooms, and a real chance some seasonal operators are shut.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

January in Bathurst versus nearby

If Bathurst is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Katoomba is a better bet in January — 2.7 °C cooler, 2 days more rain. Dubbo is the weaker option in January — 4.8 °C warmer, 2 days less rain.

So: January is a compromise. April is 24 points better and is what Bathurst is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Bathurst

See all twelve months in Bathurst, or where else to go in January.