Nashville in January is a vibe, but honestly, it’s a temperamental one. You’ve probably heard people say the South is always mild. Those people haven't stood on Broadway when a northwest wind is whipping off the Cumberland River at 15 miles per hour.
Right now, Music City is tucked under a "mostly sunny" sky, but don't let the brightness fool you into leaving your heavy coat at home. The current temperature is sitting at 31°F. But thanks to that 10 mph wind, it actually feels like 22°F. It’s the kind of cold that sneaks into your bones while you're waiting in line for hot chicken.
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The Breakdown: Your 5 day forecast for nashville tennessee
If you're planning your week, you need to be ready for some serious Whiplash. Nashville weather doesn't just change; it evolves at a chaotic pace.
Today, Thursday, January 15
We are looking at a high of 31°F and a low of 23°F. It’s "partly sunny" for now, but things turn cloudy tonight. There’s a tiny 10% chance of snow flurries. Basically, it’s just cold and gray.
Friday, January 16
This is the outlier. The high jumps to 50°F. Sounds great, right? Kinda. The catch is that it’ll be "cloudy" with a 20-25% chance of snow showers. Yes, snow at 50 degrees is a weird Nashville specialty where the atmosphere can't decide if it's winter or spring. Wind will be gusting from the southwest at 15 mph.
Saturday, January 17
The "brief warmup" ends abruptly. We drop back to a high of 37°F and a low of 19°F. It’ll be "partly sunny" during the day, which is nice for a walk in Percy Warner Park, but that 19-degree low Saturday night is no joke.
Sunday, January 18
Pure sun. The high is 32°F, and the low is 19°F. It’s crisp and bright, but definitely "bundle up" weather.
Monday, January 19
We start the work week with more sun, but it stays chilly. High of 30°F and a low of 16°F. It’s actually the coldest day of this stretch.
Why Nashville Weather is So Weird
You’ve got to understand that Middle Tennessee sits in a geographic "bowl." We aren't quite the mountains, and we aren't the flat coastal plains. We get these "clipper systems" dropping down from Canada that bring that biting cold, but then the Gulf of Mexico tries to push warm, moist air up. When they fight, we get 20-degree temperature swings in 24 hours.
According to the National Weather Service, January is historically the coldest month here. We usually average about 22 days where the temperature drops below freezing. This specific 5 day forecast for nashville tennessee is actually pretty standard for a mid-January stretch—colder than the average high of 46°F, but nothing the locals haven't seen before.
Survival Tips for the Nashville Cold
Honestly, the humidity makes the cold feel wetter and heavier than the "dry cold" you find out west. You’ll want layers that actually block the wind.
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- Check the "Feels Like" Temp: The raw number on your phone is a lie. If the wind is coming from the Northwest, add 10 degrees of "misery" to the forecast.
- Watch the Bridges: Even if it’s 31°F and sunny, the bridges over the river or the overpasses on I-40 can hold ice long after the main roads are clear.
- The Hot Chicken Factor: If you’re cold, go eat at Hattie B’s or Prince’s. The "Shut the Cluck Up" level of spice provides an internal heating system that lasts for hours.
Looking at the data, the real story this week is the temperature drop between Friday and Monday. We go from 50°F down to a low of 16°F. That’s a 34-degree difference. If you're visiting, pack for two different seasons.
Keep an eye on that Friday night window. While the chance of precipitation is low (25%), Nashville has a history of turning a "dusting" of snow into a city-wide event. Most years, we only see about 1.5 to 2 inches of total snow for the whole month of January, but it only takes a half-inch to make the hills in West Nashville interesting.
To stay prepared for the rest of the month, keep a solid ice scraper in your car and don't trust a clear sky to stay that way for more than four hours.