Weather in New Orleans in January

A good month. January is a solid month to be in New Orleans. Highs average 15.5 °C, lows 8.4 °C, and rain falls on 10 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

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

Rain on 10 days, 3 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 15.5 °C days and 8.4 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

The averages here are honest — no hidden extremes worth planning around. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest January day reached 23.3 °C and the coldest night fell to -4.7 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 53 mm — roughly 54% of the month's rain in one day.

January is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest January on record still delivered 181 mm against 7 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 98 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 13.1 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 81%, 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 New Orleans'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.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 22.3 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

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 New Orleans versus nearby

If New Orleans is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Baton Rouge is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, the same number of rain days. Mobile is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, the same number of rain days.

So: January works, with November the better month by 18 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in New Orleans

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