Alice Springs weather in May

In May, Alice Springs sees average daytime highs of 23°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 17 mm of rain across 1.9 wet days and about 10.9 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 25°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 67% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 06 min at the start of May to 10 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Alice Springs's 8th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Alice Springs's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 23°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 17 mm; 1.9 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 54 min; 7:05 AM – 5:56 PM
Cloud cover: 30%; 8th clearest
Wind: 13 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 4.51 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.7; out of 10

Alice Springs is city in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Density: 174/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1872

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Alice Springs year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 25°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical May day in Alice Springs reaches about 23°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 18°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 5°C cooler than April and about 4°C warmer than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	12	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	26	12
2	26	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	25	11
7	25	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	23	10
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	22	8
27	22	8
28	22	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

How May really feels in Alice Springs

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Alice Springs weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	36° / 23°	41	4.1	13.3	2.4
Feb	35° / 22°	40	4.2	12.8	3.0
Mar	33° / 19°	19	2.2	12.2	4.6
Apr	29° / 14°	15	1.4	11.5	7.3
May	23° / 9°	17	1.9	10.9	8.7
Jun	20° / 6°	9	1.5	10.6	8.1
Jul	20° / 5°	8	1.1	10.7	8.5
Aug	23° / 7°	4	0.9	11.2	9.2
Sep	28° / 12°	7	1.4	11.9	7.8
Oct	31° / 16°	16	2.5	12.6	5.6
Nov	34° / 19°	20	3.9	13.1	3.8
Dec	35° / 22°	38	4.8	13.4	2.9

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 67% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 23%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	78	78	77	77	76	76	75	76	76	75	75	76	76	76	76	76	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	76
Cloudier (%)	22	22	23	23	24	24	25	24	24	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	24

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	76	24
6	76	24
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	76	24
16	76	24
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	77	23
20	77	23
21	77	23
22	77	23
23	77	23
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	77	23
27	77	23
28	77	23
29	77	23
30	77	23
31	76	24

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Alice Springs gets around 17 mm of rain over 1.9 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 6% and peaks near 7% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	6
8	6
9	6
10	6
11	7
12	7
13	7
14	7
15	7
16	7
17	7
18	7
19	7
20	7
21	6
22	6
23	6
24	6
25	6
26	6
27	6
28	6
29	6
30	6
31	6

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the dry band about 96% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	97	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	96	96	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	97
Comfortable (%)	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Humid (%)	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	2	1
2	96	3	1
3	96	3	1
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	97	3	0
7	97	3	0
8	97	3	0
9	97	3	0
10	97	3	0
11	97	3	0
12	97	3	0
13	96	3	1
14	96	3	1
15	96	3	1
16	96	3	1
17	96	3	1
18	96	3	1
19	97	2	1
20	97	2	1
21	97	2	1
22	97	2	1
23	97	2	1
24	97	2	1
25	97	2	1
26	97	2	1
27	97	2	1
28	97	2	1
29	97	2	1
30	97	2	1
31	97	2	1

Wind in May

Winds average 13 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	13	light breeze
2	13	light breeze
3	13	light breeze
4	13	light breeze
5	13	light breeze
6	13	light breeze
7	13	light breeze
8	13	light breeze
9	13	light breeze
10	13	light breeze
11	13	light breeze
12	13	light breeze
13	13	light breeze
14	13	light breeze
15	13	light breeze
16	13	light breeze
17	13	light breeze
18	13	light breeze
19	13	light breeze
20	13	light breeze
21	13	light breeze
22	13	light breeze
23	13	light breeze
24	13	light breeze
25	13	light breeze
26	13	light breeze
27	13	light breeze
28	13	light breeze
29	13	light breeze
30	13	light breeze
31	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 06 min at the start of May to 10 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:58 AM to 7:12 AM, and sunset from 6:06 PM to 5:52 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7
Sunrise (AM)	6:58	6:58	6:59	6:59	7:00	7:00	7:01	7:01	7:02	7:02	7:02	7:03	7:03	7:04	7:04	7:05	7:05	7:06	7:06	7:07	7:07	7:08	7:08	7:09	7:09	7:10	7:10	7:11	7:11	7:12	7:12
Sunset (PM)	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:01	6:00	6:00	5:59	5:59	5:58	5:57	5:57	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:55	5:55	5:54	5:54	5:54	5:53	5:53	5:53	5:52	5:52	5:52	5:52	5:52

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.1	6:58	6:06
2	11.1	6:58	6:05
3	11.1	6:59	6:04
4	11.1	6:59	6:03
5	11.1	7:00	6:03
6	11.0	7:00	6:02
7	11.0	7:01	6:01
8	11.0	7:01	6:01
9	11.0	7:02	6:00
10	11.0	7:02	6:00
11	10.9	7:02	5:59
12	10.9	7:03	5:59
13	10.9	7:03	5:58
14	10.9	7:04	5:57
15	10.9	7:04	5:57
16	10.9	7:05	5:56
17	10.8	7:05	5:56
18	10.8	7:06	5:56
19	10.8	7:06	5:55
20	10.8	7:07	5:55
21	10.8	7:07	5:54
22	10.8	7:08	5:54
23	10.8	7:08	5:54
24	10.7	7:09	5:53
25	10.7	7:09	5:53
26	10.7	7:10	5:53
27	10.7	7:10	5:52
28	10.7	7:11	5:52
29	10.7	7:11	5:52
30	10.7	7:12	5:52
31	10.7	7:12	5:52

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.51 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.93 kWh/m² to a high of 7.7 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 4.51 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.1
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.1	Bright
2	5.0	Bright
3	5.0	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	4.9	Bright
6	4.9	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.6	Bright
13	4.6	Bright
14	4.5	Bright
15	4.5	Bright
16	4.5	Bright
17	4.4	Bright
18	4.4	Bright
19	4.4	Bright
20	4.3	Bright
21	4.3	Bright
22	4.3	Bright
23	4.3	Bright
24	4.2	Bright
25	4.2	Bright
26	4.2	Bright
27	4.2	Bright
28	4.2	Bright
29	4.1	Bright
30	4.1	Bright
31	4.1	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Alice Springs?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

8.7

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

6.7

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Alice Springs for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Alice Springs in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Alice Springs sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Alice Springs in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Alice Springs peaks around January 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 6 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	15	14	13	10	7	6	6	8	10	13	14	15
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	13	Extreme
Apr	10	Very high
May	7	Very high
Jun	6	High
Jul	6	High
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	13	Extreme
Nov	14	Extreme
Dec	15	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Alice Springs?

Alice Springs sits at 23.7°S, 133.9°E, 583 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Uluru, 339 km away.

Topography around Alice Springs

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Alice Springs.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Alice Springs has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 83 m around an average of 591 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 406 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 819 m.

The land around Alice Springs is covered by grassland (36%), artificial surfaces (31%) and shrubs (26%) within 3 km, grassland (51%) and shrubs (45%) within 16 km, and grassland (50%) and shrubs (46%) within 80 km.

3 km

83 m

grassland 36%

16 km

406 m

grassland 51%

80 km

819 m

grassland 50%

treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← April Alice Springs year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Uluru 339 km · Mount Isa 666 km · Whyalla 1,098 km · Broken Hill 1,182 km · Palmerston 1,284 km · Darwin 1,290 km · Gawler 1,301 km · Paralowie 1,312 km

Australia travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type I; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 90% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $65,130; 2025
Happiness: 6.9 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate: 0.9; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 4.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Alice Springs (-23.6975°, 133.8836°, elevation 583 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	26	12
2	26	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	25	11
7	25	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	23	10
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	22	8
27	22	8
28	22	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	76	24
6	76	24
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	76	24
16	76	24
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	77	23
20	77	23
21	77	23
22	77	23
23	77	23
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	77	23
27	77	23
28	77	23
29	77	23
30	77	23
31	76	24

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	6
8	6
9	6
10	6
11	7
12	7
13	7
14	7
15	7
16	7
17	7
18	7
19	7
20	7
21	6
22	6
23	6
24	6
25	6
26	6
27	6
28	6
29	6
30	6
31	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	2	1
2	96	3	1
3	96	3	1
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	97	3	0
7	97	3	0
8	97	3	0
9	97	3	0
10	97	3	0
11	97	3	0
12	97	3	0
13	96	3	1
14	96	3	1
15	96	3	1
16	96	3	1
17	96	3	1
18	96	3	1
19	97	2	1
20	97	2	1
21	97	2	1
22	97	2	1
23	97	2	1
24	97	2	1
25	97	2	1
26	97	2	1
27	97	2	1
28	97	2	1
29	97	2	1
30	97	2	1
31	97	2	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	26	12
2	26	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	25	11
7	25	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	23	10
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	22	8
27	22	8
28	22	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	76	24
6	76	24
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	76	24
16	76	24
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	77	23
20	77	23
21	77	23
22	77	23
23	77	23
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	77	23
27	77	23
28	77	23
29	77	23
30	77	23
31	76	24

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	6
8	6
9	6
10	6
11	7
12	7
13	7
14	7
15	7
16	7
17	7
18	7
19	7
20	7
21	6
22	6
23	6
24	6
25	6
26	6
27	6
28	6
29	6
30	6
31	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	2	1
2	96	3	1
3	96	3	1
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	97	3	0
7	97	3	0
8	97	3	0
9	97	3	0
10	97	3	0
11	97	3	0
12	97	3	0
13	96	3	1
14	96	3	1
15	96	3	1
16	96	3	1
17	96	3	1
18	96	3	1
19	97	2	1
20	97	2	1
21	97	2	1
22	97	2	1
23	97	2	1
24	97	2	1
25	97	2	1
26	97	2	1
27	97	2	1
28	97	2	1
29	97	2	1
30	97	2	1
31	97	2	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	26	12
2	26	11
3	25	11
4	25	11
5	25	11
6	25	11
7	25	10
8	24	10
9	24	10
10	24	10
11	24	10
12	24	10
13	23	10
14	23	9
15	23	9
16	23	9
17	23	9
18	23	9
19	23	9
20	23	9
21	23	9
22	22	9
23	22	9
24	22	9
25	22	9
26	22	8
27	22	8
28	22	8
29	21	8
30	21	8
31	21	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	78	22
2	78	22
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	76	24
6	76	24
7	75	25
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	75	25
11	75	25
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	76	24
16	76	24
17	77	23
18	77	23
19	77	23
20	77	23
21	77	23
22	77	23
23	77	23
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	77	23
27	77	23
28	77	23
29	77	23
30	77	23
31	76	24

	Rain chance (%)
1	4
2	4
3	4
4	5
5	5
6	5
7	6
8	6
9	6
10	6
11	7
12	7
13	7
14	7
15	7
16	7
17	7
18	7
19	7
20	7
21	6
22	6
23	6
24	6
25	6
26	6
27	6
28	6
29	6
30	6
31	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	97	2	1
2	96	3	1
3	96	3	1
4	97	3	0
5	97	3	0
6	97	3	0
7	97	3	0
8	97	3	0
9	97	3	0
10	97	3	0
11	97	3	0
12	97	3	0
13	96	3	1
14	96	3	1
15	96	3	1
16	96	3	1
17	96	3	1
18	96	3	1
19	97	2	1
20	97	2	1
21	97	2	1
22	97	2	1
23	97	2	1
24	97	2	1
25	97	2	1
26	97	2	1
27	97	2	1
28	97	2	1
29	97	2	1
30	97	2	1
31	97	2	1