Weather in Byron Bay in January

A good month. January is a solid month to be in Byron Bay. Highs average 26.3 °C, lows 24 °C, and rain falls on 14 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

January ranks 9 of 12 in Byron Bay: past the worst of the year but short of August, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 14 days, 4 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average January reaches 30 °C; the day barely swings — 2.2 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 31.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 21.6 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 157 mm — roughly 98% of the month's rain in one day.

January is moderately variable: 7 mm in the driest year against 382 mm in the wettest, around an average of 160 mm. Roughly two Januarys in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 20.1 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 77%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How January sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 25.5 °C in December, 26.3 here, 26.3 in February. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in January

January is at or near the longest days of Byron Bay's year: 13.8 hours of daylight, losing 0.5 hours across the month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 26.2 °C in January — warm enough to stay in as long as you like. This is the warmest the water gets all year.

How busy it gets

Shoulder. The value months — prices ease off and you get the place closer to itself.

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

January in Byron Bay versus nearby

If Byron Bay is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Brisbane is the weaker option in January — 3 °C warmer, 1 day less rain. Coffs Harbour is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain.

So: January works, with August the better month by 16 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Byron Bay

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