Montana January Weather: Warm Records & Cold History

January is here, and that means that we have just begun to get the full reality of a Montana winter. The good news about January in Montana is that we are starting to get more daylight each day. By the end of the month, parts of the state will see almost a full hour more of daylight.

More Daylight and What It Means

But January can also see some of the coldest weather of the year in Montana. Most of the coldest Januarys we have experienced in Montana have been pre-1970. When you look at the other end of the spectrum, there are Januarys in Montana that aren’t that bad as far as cold weather goes.

Recent Warmth & Record Highs

According to Balanced Weather, the lower 48 states had its warmest Christmas Day on record in 2025. Montana had multiple locations that broke daily record highs on the holiday.

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information has been tracking average temperatures in Montana and has information going back to 1895. If you want to find some of the coldest Januarys on record, you need to go back in time. Some of the warmest Januarys have been found more recently.

Personal Experience With January Extremes

Over my lifetime, I have lived through only one of the coldest Januarys on record, but I have experienced 7 out of ten of the warmest Januarys we have seen in Montana.

Keep scrolling to see the top ten warmest Januarys on record in Montana.