January is the coldest , wettest month in Crete. It's not a good time to come to the island if you are looking for the sun but on the positive side, 15 days with rain also mean 16 days without rain and you still get an average of almost three and a half hours of sun per day.
The sea is also cold (but has not reached it's coldest point - that's for February) but you may still see local people going swimming. After all, 16°C is still quite bearable once you get past the initial shiver.
A positive side of visiting Crete in January will be the views of the mountains which will be generally covered in snow.
The table below lists weather averages in January for 7 towns of Crete.
Note that these weather stations are located near the sea, more or less at sea level and they generally get less rain than inland locations, especially higher up. Temperatures in hills and mountain areas can be considerably cooler.
January weather averages in Crete |
|||||
City |
Monthly Max. Temperature |
Monthly Min. Temperature |
Monthly Average Temperature |
Average Rain |
Days of rain |
Chania |
15.8°C |
9.2°C |
11.6°C |
100mm |
15 |
Rethymnon |
15.5°C |
9.5°C |
12.8°C |
134mm |
15.1 |
Heraklion |
15.3°C |
9°C |
12.1°C |
90mm |
16 |
Sitia |
15.3°C |
9.4°C |
12.2°C |
90mm |
13.3 |
Paleochora |
15.2 °C |
10°C |
12.7°C |
82mm |
|
Tymbaki |
15.9°C |
7.5°C |
11.7°C |
98mm |
11 |
Ierapetra |
16.1°C |
8.9°C |
12.9°C |
100mm |
13 |
Average Sunlight Hours/ Day (data recorded for Heraklion) 03:27 Average Sea Temperature 16°C Highest recorded temperature (in Heraklion) 24.8°C Coldest recorded temperature (in Heraklion) 0.2°C Winds: Winds are extremely dependant on the specific location at which you are so I prefered to avoid any wind averages because they will be misleading. If you want to study wind statistics for Crete please check the Advanced Wind Rose on this paper. |
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