Weather in January — Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian's January averages a high of 73.3°F, a low of 52.2°F and 2.74 inches of rain, according to NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Vero Beach airport station south of the city.

January is the coolest month of the year on those normals, with a mean of 62.8°F against 65.0°F in February and 65.7°F in December (NOAA NCEI monthly normals, station USW00012843). The National Weather Service office in Melbourne files its monthly climate summary for this stretch of the Treasure Coast from the Vero Beach station, so the long record for Sebastian, the Sebastian Highlands and the riverfront along Indian River Drive is read from Vero Beach.

The January day in Sebastian has the second widest swing of the year: the normal gap between afternoon high and overnight low at Vero Beach is 21.0 degrees, behind only February's 21.1. The same normals count 13.4 January nights below 50°F and 4.0 nights below 40°F. Rain is light and spaced out, with 4.2 days reaching a tenth of an inch and 0.9 days reaching a full inch.

January rainfall around Indian River County is also uneven from year to year. In the NOAA normals, a quarter of Januaries at Vero Beach end with less than 1.15 inches and a quarter end with more than 3.32 inches. The Vero Beach January rainfall record is 9.39 inches, set in 2016, and the driest January on the books is a trace in 2012 (NWS Melbourne January 2026 climate report, IEM archive).

Ocean water near Sebastian Inlet averages from about 67°F at the beach to about 73°F offshore in January, based on the NOAA stations that sit north and south of the inlet.

The closest beach station north of Sebastian Inlet, Trident Pier at Port Canaveral, averages 66.8°F in January, the only month its average falls below 67°F. The Canaveral buoy 20 nautical miles offshore averages 72.9°F, and Lake Worth Pier to the south averages 74.5°F (NOAA Coastal Water Temperature Guide). The surf at Sebastian Inlet State Park and Wabasso Beach lies between those stations.

January opens the widest gap of the year between beach and offshore water near Sebastian: Trident Pier runs 6.1 degrees colder than the Canaveral buoy, against 2.9 degrees in February and 5.3 degrees in December. Offshore water also stays warmer than the air. The Canaveral buoy's 72.9°F January average sits about ten degrees above the 62.8°F mean air temperature at Vero Beach.

January 2026 was dry, foggy and windy around Sebastian: the Vero Beach station recorded 0.70 inches of rain, 2.04 inches below normal, and fog on 16 days.

The month's warmest afternoon reached 87°F on January 25, and the coldest mornings bottomed at 33°F on January 1 and January 29, according to the NWS Melbourne climate report for Vero Beach (January 2026 report). Average highs ran 0.7 degrees above normal at 74.0°F, while average lows ran 2.1 degrees below normal at 50.1°F. At the Indian River County reporting station, the wettest day gave just 0.37 inches, on January 26.

Wind was the January 2026 headline for boaters on the Indian River Lagoon and at Sebastian Inlet. On January 18 the Vero Beach station logged a top sustained wind of 36 mph and a peak gust of 51 mph, both from the northwest at 310 degrees. Fog was recorded on 16 days, and on 8 of them visibility fell to a quarter mile or less.

January 2025 was also short of rain in Sebastian, with 1.13 inches at Vero Beach, and it ran cooler, with a mean of 60.5°F, 2.3 degrees below normal. That month peaked at 88°F on January 19 and bottomed at 40°F on January 9, and its strongest gust, 43 mph, came on January 19 (NWS Melbourne January 2025 climate report, IEM archive).

January storm risk in Sebastian comes from cold fronts, freezes and squall lines rather than tropical systems, since the Atlantic hurricane season does not open until June 1.

The coldest reading on the Vero Beach record, 21°F, was set on January 22, 1985, in a record that runs from 1942 (NWS Melbourne annual climate report for Vero Beach). Freezes remain uncommon in Sebastian: the 1991 to 2020 normals average 0.9 January nights at or below 32°F at Vero Beach, and neither January 2025 nor January 2026 had one. The Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30 (National Hurricane Center).

NWS Melbourne's storm survey list shows what January can do across east central Florida, including Indian River County: January 2 to 13, 2010 brought record cold, freeze and sleet; January 21 and 22, 2010 brought tornado and wind damage from a squall line; and January 24, 2003 brought cold and flurries (NWS Melbourne storm surveys).

Lightning is rare in January near Sebastian. NWS Melbourne estimates about 37 cloud to ground strikes in neighboring Brevard County in a typical January, against 6,676 in August (NWS Melbourne lightning statistics). Its lightning climatology says January activity is governed largely by passing cold fronts and weakens as those systems move off the east coast near Sebastian (NWS Melbourne Florida lightning climatology).

NWS Melbourne's dry season outlook, issued September 30, 2026, points to increased potential for well above normal rainfall and severe weather in central Florida, including Sebastian, from November 2026 through April 2027.

The outlook covers November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027 and splits the season into November to January and February to April, so January 2027 in Sebastian falls in the first period (NWS Melbourne dry season outlook). The office bases it on El Niño Southern Oscillation research it has run since early 1997, and lists its next forecast issuance for January 2027.

January is also the heart of the cold-season manatee rules near Sebastian. A seasonal No Entry manatee zone between Sebastian Inlet and the St. Lucie County line is in effect from Nov. 15 through March 31; in April 2026 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission proposed changing it to Idle Speed all year (WQCS, April 20, 2026).

Live January readings for Sebastian come from the automated station at Sebastian Municipal Airport (KX26) and the Florida Institute of Technology station on the Sebastian Inlet State Park north jetty (SIPF1).

The National Weather Service forecast page for Sebastian lists current conditions at Sebastian Municipal Airport (KX26), at an elevation of 22 feet (NWS forecast for Sebastian). The jetty station, SIPF1, is owned and maintained by the Florida Institute of Technology at Sebastian Inlet State Park (NOAA NDBC station SIPF1). These two record the cold north winds that follow January fronts across Sebastian, while the monthly totals on this page come from Vero Beach.