Amsterdam weather in January

January in Amsterdam: cold, rainy, with clean air — one of the weakest months to visit.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Amsterdam🇳🇱 Netherlands · Western Europe · City48
  1. 48Jan
  2. 58Feb
  3. 67Mar
  4. 76Apr
  5. 84May
  6. 88Jun
  7. 92Jul
  8. 91Aug
  9. 82Sep
  10. 69Oct
  11. 56Nov
  12. 51Dec

#12 of 12 months in Amsterdam · #1167 of 1413 destinations to visit in January · comfort 48/100 (tier F)

Days
7°C
Nights
2°C
Wet days
16
Sun
3.5 h
Humidity
85%
Daylight
8 h
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Photo: Sophie Otto · Pexels

What January is like in Amsterdam

Cold, dark and local. A hard frost still starts talk of skating on the canals, though it now rarely freezes hard enough.

quietlow season

confidence: medium

Traveller notes on Amsterdam in January

Amsterdam forum regulars keep January's range wide: “anywhere between -15 and 15 degrees Celsius, with various degrees of rain, snow or clear skies,” a bit bleak and rainy/windy more often than not, though occasionally clear enough for skatable ice on the canals. Cold that feels worse than the number suggests is a recurring warning — dress for wind as much as temperature. Forecasts genuinely can't be trusted more than a week out, so the standard advice is to check again a few days before travel rather than plan around a long-range guess. The upside regulars keep repeating: January and February draw real fans specifically because visits run cheaper with far fewer people. Our record: 6.8°C days, 3.3°C nights, 12 rain days and 1.7cm of snow — cold, wet and windy, sitting toward the milder end of the wide range forums describe.
Tripadvisor community · January · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Other months in Amsterdam

Regulars name real year-to-year extremes rather than a settled pattern: one recent May brought snow and storms, another ran hot and summery, with most years landing somewhere between - shorts weather one afternoon, fleece-and-rain-jacket weather the next. Our row backs the mild average sitting between those extremes, 18.6C over 8.8C nights feeling 7C, with 62.8mm of rain across 8.7 days. Regulars consistently recommend checking the forecast just a couple of days out rather than trusting any seasonal generalization, and packing a genuine waterproof layer alongside lighter clothes regardless. The record: humidity 76 percent, 11.5 hours of sun, a 19.6 kph wind and AQI 49.
SnowyOneYearHotSummeryTheNext · May · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Regulars are consistent on one point: there's no defined wet season here, so June's weather is decent on average but genuinely unpredictable day to day, with a real chance of rain on any given afternoon regardless of the season. Our row backs the mild, changeable read, 21.9C over 12.6C nights, with 82mm of rain across 8.6 days and a real 19.2 kph wind. The standard packing advice reflects the variability directly - bring both a jacket for a cool or wet stretch and t-shirts for a sunny one, since a single week can swing between both. Regulars are quick to add that a lousy multi-day stretch is rare, and the city's museums are the fallback for whichever afternoon does turn wet. The record: humidity 76 percent, 11.7 hours of sun and AQI 49.
PackForBothJacketsAndTShirts · June · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
August is the busiest month here and regulars give the pattern rather than the warning: Monday to Wednesday is quiet, Thursday picks up, and the weekend is full - and late August weekdays are quieter still, because the Netherlands has gone back to work. On weather they describe showers off the North Sea as frequent and unpredictable but rarely heavy: it rains part of the day and then clears, and it is not a reason to change plans. Our 76.9mm across 9.3 days agrees. Days average 23.1C reading as 22C in an 18.8 kph wind, with 13.9C nights. The record: humidity 77 percent, 11 hours of sun inside 14.6 of daylight, and AQI 47.
QuietMondayCrowdedFriday · August · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Amsterdam forum regulars call October genuinely unpredictable — “can bring freezing cold or Indian summer, or all that in a matter of days” — with the first half of the month generally milder than the back half as autumn sets in properly. A light jacket covers most days, but nights start to cool down and by month's end can turn genuinely cold, with the swing running anywhere from 5°C to 20°C depending on the week. Rain isn't dramatically worse than other months — “not that much difference in rain” between September and October — but wind is “quite common,” so an umbrella is a coin flip against a proper rain shell. The reward for the back half: real autumn color in the parks. Our record: 15°C days, 10.5°C nights, 17.2 rain days and a 22.7kph wind — cool, wet more often than not, and blustery enough that the wind matters as much as the rain.
Tripadvisor community · October · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Year-round notes are on Amsterdam's overview. Add your own note from Amsterdam's card on the map.

Amsterdam climate normals — January

Daytime high7°C / 44°F🧥 cold
Nighttime low2°C / 35°F
Feels like (high)2°C / 36°F
Rainfall89 mm / 3.5 in🌧 rainy
Rainy days16 days
Humidity85%💦 very humid
Dew point3°C / 37°F
Sunshine3.5 h/day
Daylight8.3 h
Wind24 km/h / 15 mph
Snowfall2.4 cm / 0.9 in
Air quality (US AQI)31🍃 good

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in Amsterdam in January

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

Quietthe editor's quiet month, New Year's Eve, Christmas holidays in Netherlands

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for Amsterdam's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Toughest weatherAmsterdam's weather peaks June–August, best around July.

JFMAMJJASOND

Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather

What's on in Amsterdam in January

Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.

  • Rule

    Timed tickets at the big museums

    1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

    The Anne Frank House sells online only, in time slots released roughly six weeks ahead, and the Van Gogh Museum works the same way. Turning up on the day is not a plan between March and October. Source ↗

  • Festival

    Amsterdam Light Festival

    26 Nov – 17 JanLights & fire

    Light installations along the canals through the darkest eight weeks of the year, free to walk and ticketed by boat. It is the one thing that gives the December and January evenings a reason to be outdoors. Source ↗

  • Holiday

    New Year's Eve

    28 Dec – 2 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedClosures

    The national ban on consumer fireworks took effect in August 2026, so the loudest night of the Dutch year is now sparklers and licensed displays rather than the old free-for-all. Rooms are at their December peak and the 1st is a shutdown. Source ↗

What's on around the world in January →

Nearby, and something's on

Within 300 km of Amsterdam — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.

Where is Amsterdam?

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Amsterdam in January — FAQ

Is January a good time to visit Amsterdam?
January in Amsterdam: cold, rainy, with clean air — one of the weakest months to visit. It ranks #12 of 12 months for Amsterdam on SeasonMap's comfort score (48/100).
What is the weather like in Amsterdam in January?
In January, Amsterdam averages a daily high of 6.9°C and a low of 1.6°C, with about 89.2 mm of rain over roughly 16.2 rainy days.
What is the air quality in Amsterdam in January?
Amsterdam has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 31 in January.
Does it snow in Amsterdam in January?
Amsterdam sees roughly 2.4 cm of snowfall in January.

Within 300 km: The Hague's New Year's dive at Scheveningen on 1 Jan, and Bruges' Winter Glow and the markets around 20 Nov – 3 Jan.