Las Vegas Weather in January, Including Average Temperature and Highs and Lows
By Steve Beauregard
January is a big month in Las Vegas, with NFL playoffs, a huge New Year’s Eve crowd, and visitors hitting the town later in the month for the three day Martin Luther King Jr. day holiday.
It’s also a month of possible weather extremes. The month has seen temperatures of 77 degrees, and also 8 degrees. In fact, this first month of the year is the second coldest month in Las Vegas, only behind December.
Still, Las Vegas temperatures in January are typically relatively warm compared to many other parts of the country.
While the normal overnight lows are in the high 30’s, the normal daily high temperatures are a reasonable 56 degrees to 60 degrees, depending on the part of the month. (Later January is warmer).
In other words, you shouldn’t be cold walking from casino to casino on the Las Vegas Strip or on Fremont Street, unless you are doing so very early in the morning (say 5 a.m.-ish), when Las Vegas experiences the coldest weather of the day.
Average temperature in Las Vegas in January
The normal temperature in Las Vegas in January is 48.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 9.2 Celsius.
The normal daily highs range from 56 degrees on New Year’s Day, to 60 degrees on the last two days of the month.
The normal January lows in Las Vegas range from 38 degrees on the first two days of the month, to 41 degrees from January 29th to the 31st.
Some other weather facts about Las Vegas weather in January:
Las Vegas High and Low Temperatures in January
The normal daily high temperature in Sin City in January is 58 degrees.
Hottest Temperature in January in Las Vegas
The warmest it has ever gotten on a January day in Las Vegas is 77 degrees (25 Celsius). This took place on January 26, 1975.
Coldest Temperatures in Las Vegas During January
The normal daily low for Vegas in January is just under 40 degrees. It’s 39.4 degrees to be precise, or 4.11 Celsius).
(Related: Las Vegas weather in December)
The coldest day ever in the history of Las Vegas was a January day. Actually, the city’s all time record low took place on two different occasions, but both times in January.
The lowest, coldest temperature in the recorded history of Las Vegas is 8 degrees (or -13 Celsius).
This chilly 8 degree reading was hit twice, once on January 25th, 1937, and again on January 13, 1963.
Precipitation in Las Vegas in January
January is the second wettest month in Las Vegas, only behind February. In January, the town normally receives .54 inches of precipitation.
The wettest January day in the Las Vegas valley’s recorded history took place on January 9th, 2018, when the city received 1.33 inches of precipitation.
As for snow? Well Las Vegas hardly receives any noticeable trace of snow. But if they do, it’s usually in January.
Of the top ten snowiest days in the history of Las Vegas, seven of them have occurred in January.
The day for the record amount of snowfall is January 31, 1979, when the city received 7.4 inches of snow.
The snowiest month in Sin City’s history was a January. January 1949 to be exact, when the town received a dumping of 16.7 inches of snow during those 31 days. To put this in perspective, the next snowiest month, February, has a record snowfall of only 4.1 inches.
Las Vegas Weather and Temperatures During New Year’s Day
Since they started keeping records, temperatures on New Year’s Day have reached at least 60 degrees about one out of every four times.
The normal high temperature on New Year’s Day in Las Vegas is 56 degrees, while the normal low is 38 degrees.
Las Vegas Temperatures on Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
The exact day for MLK day changes each year of course, but typically it falls on a day from January 18th through the 20th. Each of those three days in Las Vegas sees normal high temperatures of 58 degrees, and typical lows at 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Interesting Las Vegas Weather and Other Facts for the Month of January
January is the second least windy month of the year in Las Vegas. (December is the least windy).
January is right in the middle of the 12 months in terms of number of visitors to Las Vegas, with about 3.4 million tourists hitting the city.
The average daily hotel occupancy rate in January is 86.1%, boosted in large part by leftover New Year’s Day stays and visitors taking advantage of the three day Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
(Related: What is the highest temperature ever in Las Vegas?)
For hotels on the Strip, the occupancy rate is 85.9% while Fremont Street hotel/casinos have a January occupancy rate of 73.4%.
January is the busiest month in Las Vegas in terms of convention business. Of the city’s top four most-attended conventions for the year, two of them occur in January.
The busiest convention all year long in Las Vegas is held during January, usually a few days after New Year’s Day. It’s the famous, Consumer Electronics Show. This event, which is covered by national news, is the setting for the introduction of many new high-tech gadgets, apps, and computer-related technology.
According to the Las Vegas visitor’s bureau, (www.vegasmeansbusiness.com), the attendance for this annual show is an amazing 165,000 people.
A few weeks later, in mid-January, 50,000 visitors arrive for the bi-annual World Market retail clothing and shoe show.
(Photo courtesy of Michael Asuncion via Flickr).