Weather in Katoomba in January

A good month. January is a solid month to be in Katoomba. Highs average 27.8 °C, lows 13.5 °C, and rain falls on 12 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

January ranks 8 of 12 in Katoomba: past the worst of the year but short of October, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 12 days, 2 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: 11 days top 30 °C — hot spells arrive, but they break. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 38 °C and the coldest night fell to 3.9 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 56 mm — roughly 69% of the month's rain in one day.

January is moderately variable: 24 mm in the driest year against 169 mm in the wettest, around an average of 81 mm. Roughly two Januarys in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 1.7 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 61%.

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 Katoomba's year: 14.2 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 — 26.3 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage. At 991 m the air is thin enough to matter — sun that burns faster than the temperature suggests, and nights that cool off quickly. Within January itself the daily swing is 14.3 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead. If the dates are flexible, May is the trade worth considering — 12 points weaker on weather, and materially quieter.

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

January in Katoomba versus nearby

If Katoomba is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Bathurst is the weaker option in January — 2.7 °C warmer, 2 days less rain. Sydney is close enough to be a coin toss — 2.1 °C cooler, the same number of rain days.

So: January works, with October the better month by 8 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Katoomba

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