Weather in Jacksonville in January

A good month. January is a solid month to be in Jacksonville. Highs average 17.7 °C, lows 6 °C, and rain falls on 8 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

January ranks 7 of 12 in Jacksonville: past the worst of the year but short of November, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 8 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 17.7 °C days and 6 °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: 6 nights fall below freezing. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 27.8 °C and the coldest night fell to -7.1 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 53 mm — roughly 73% of the month's rain in one day.

January is moderately variable: 16 mm in the driest year against 153 mm in the wettest, around an average of 73 mm. Roughly two Januarys in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 2.3 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 80%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

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 sits at the dark end of Jacksonville's year — 10.4 hours of daylight against 14.1 at midsummer, gaining 0.5 hours across the month. Sightseeing days are genuinely shorter, and an itinerary built for summer will not fit.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 20 °C in January — swimmable, but it takes a moment to commit. The sea peaks at 28.4 °C in August and bottoms out at 19.5 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Busy. Popular without being frantic; book the things you care about, improvise the rest.

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

January in Jacksonville versus nearby

If Jacksonville is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Tallahassee is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain. Tampa is a better bet in January — 2.5 °C warmer, 1 day less rain.

So: January works, with November the better month by 9 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Jacksonville

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