Jordan in first week of January- weather,trips

There is absolutely no way to be sure of what the weather will be like at any time further ahead than a week. Ask yourself what it will be like in your own country.

In December and January you might get anything at all in Jordan : for sure it will be colder than in the summer, but one can't get closer than that. You might get tee shirt weather during the daytime, you might get 50 cms of snow. This particularly refers to Petra and Wadi Rum, but Aqaba might be anything from 25C during the day to 10C. The Dead Sea is also unlikely to get snow and you might be able to float there OK.

The Jordan Met Office has a site at http://met.jometeo.gov.jo/portal/page?_pageid=113,1,113_56210:113_56242&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_stn_e=305 which you might like to bookmark. This will give you a pretty good idea what to expect. I have given you the link to Jafer which is the closest they give to Wadi Rum - the altitude is about right anyway. Check Deir Alla for the Dead Sea.

Truly sorry, but this is the best that I can do.

#1 - Dear Ruth, The weather website is a great resource and I have bookmarked it. I am going to the Pella excavations (Tabaqat Fahl) with the University of Sydney at the end of the month. Do you think Irbid is the closet link for a weather update for Pella?

Pella would have weather somewhere between Irbid and Deir Alla. Both are in northern Jordan, but Deir Alla is a little to the south. However, the elevation matters. Irbid is at 700 m above sea level. Pella is at sea level and Deir Alla is at 200 or so meters below sea level. So Pella would be warmer and drier than Irbid, but a little cooler and wetter than Deir Alla. Hopefully this will give some persepctive.

Hussein

I swum in the Dead Sea in late December. It was quite warm that day despite being chilly and foggy in Amman - so don't assume weather in the Dead Sea will be the same as elsewhere in the country.

In other places it ranged from cool and clear to cold and rainy.