Francistown weather in May

In May, Francistown sees average daytime highs of 26°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 4 mm of rain across 0.9 wet days and about 11 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 27°C in the first days to 25°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 82% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 12 min at the start of May to 10 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Francistown's 3rd-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Francistown's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 26°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 4 mm; 0.9 wet days
Daylight: 11 hours; 6:36 AM – 5:36 PM
Cloud cover: 17%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 4.81 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.9; out of 10

Francistown is city in northern Botswana.

Founded: 1897

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

← April Francistown 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 27°C in the first days to 25°C by the end.

A typical May day in Francistown reaches about 26°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 15°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 22°C and 30°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C cooler than April and about 3°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)	28	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25
Avg low (°C)	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

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

How May really feels in Francistown

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.

Francistown weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 10th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	31° / 20°	95	11.7	13.1	4.6
Feb	30° / 20°	87	9.5	12.7	4.9
Mar	30° / 19°	45	6.8	12.1	5.8
Apr	28° / 16°	11	2.5	11.5	7.4
May	26° / 11°	4	0.9	11	8.9
Jun	24° / 9°	4	0.5	10.7	9.3
Jul	23° / 8°	4	0.4	10.8	9.2
Aug	27° / 11°	1	0.1	11.3	9.0
Sep	30° / 15°	6	1.1	11.9	6.6
Oct	32° / 18°	15	3.4	12.5	5.0
Nov	32° / 20°	55	9.3	13	4.3
Dec	31° / 20°	96	12.8	13.3	4.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 82% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 9%.

	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 (%)	90	90	91	91	92	92	93	93	93	92	92	92	92	92	91	91	91	91	90	90	90	90	90	90	91	91	91	91	92	92	92
Cloudier (%)	10	10	9	9	8	8	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	8	8	8

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	90	10
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	92	8
6	92	8
7	93	7
8	93	7
9	93	7
10	92	8
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	92	8
14	92	8
15	91	9
16	91	9
17	91	9
18	91	9
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	92	8
30	92	8
31	92	8

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Francistown gets around 4 mm of rain over 0.9 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 3% and peaks near 4% 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	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3

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

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 93% 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 (%)	81	83	84	85	87	88	90	90	91	92	93	94	95	95	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98
Comfortable (%)	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	9	8	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2
Humid (%)	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	81	15	4
2	83	14	3
3	84	13	3
4	85	12	3
5	87	11	2
6	88	10	2
7	90	9	1
8	90	9	1
9	91	8	1
10	92	7	1
11	93	6	1
12	94	6	0
13	95	5	0
14	95	5	0
15	96	4	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	96	4	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	98	2	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	98	2	0

Wind in May

Winds average 11 km/h in May, the calmest month.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 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)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 12 min at the start of May to 10 h 48 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 6:30 AM to 6:43 AM, and sunset from 5:44 PM to 5:32 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)	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8
Sunrise (AM)	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34	6:35	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:37	6:38	6:38	6:39	6:39	6:39	6:40	6:40	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:42	6:43
Sunset (PM)	5:44	5:44	5:43	5:42	5:42	5:41	5:40	5:40	5:39	5:39	5:38	5:38	5:37	5:37	5:36	5:36	5:36	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:34	5:34	5:34	5:33	5:33	5:33	5:33	5:32	5:32	5:32	5:32

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.2	6:30	5:44
2	11.2	6:31	5:44
3	11.2	6:31	5:43
4	11.2	6:31	5:42
5	11.2	6:32	5:42
6	11.1	6:32	5:41
7	11.1	6:33	5:40
8	11.1	6:33	5:40
9	11.1	6:33	5:39
10	11.1	6:34	5:39
11	11.1	6:34	5:38
12	11.1	6:35	5:38
13	11.0	6:35	5:37
14	11.0	6:36	5:37
15	11.0	6:36	5:36
16	11.0	6:36	5:36
17	11.0	6:37	5:36
18	11.0	6:37	5:35
19	11.0	6:38	5:35
20	10.9	6:38	5:35
21	10.9	6:39	5:34
22	10.9	6:39	5:34
23	10.9	6:39	5:34
24	10.9	6:40	5:33
25	10.9	6:40	5:33
26	10.9	6:41	5:33
27	10.9	6:41	5:33
28	10.8	6:42	5:32
29	10.8	6:42	5:32
30	10.8	6:42	5:32
31	10.8	6:43	5:32

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.81 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.24 kWh/m² to a high of 6.85 kWh/m² in October across the year — May's 4.81 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	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4
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	5.1	Bright
3	5.1	Bright
4	5.1	Bright
5	5.1	Bright
6	5.0	Bright
7	5.0	Bright
8	5.0	Bright
9	5.0	Bright
10	5.0	Bright
11	4.9	Bright
12	4.9	Bright
13	4.9	Bright
14	4.8	Bright
15	4.8	Bright
16	4.8	Bright
17	4.8	Bright
18	4.7	Bright
19	4.7	Bright
20	4.7	Bright
21	4.7	Bright
22	4.6	Bright
23	4.6	Bright
24	4.6	Bright
25	4.6	Bright
26	4.5	Bright
27	4.5	Bright
28	4.5	Bright
29	4.5	Bright
30	4.5	Bright
31	4.4	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Francistown?

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

8.9

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

8.4

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Francistown in May

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

In May, Francistown sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Francistown in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 8 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Francistown peaks around January 18 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 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	8	6	7	8	10	11	13	13
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	8	Very high
Jun	6	High
Jul	7	High
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	13	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Francistown?

Francistown sits at 21.2°S, 27.5°E, 989 m above sea level, in Botswana. The nearest listed city is Tonota, 31 km away.

Topography around Francistown

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Francistown has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 110 m around an average of 993 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 138 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 588 m.

The land around Francistown is covered by artificial surfaces (39%), shrubs (25%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, shrubs (74%) within 16 km, and shrubs (75%) within 80 km.

3 km

110 m

artificial surfaces 39%

16 km

138 m

shrubs 74%

80 km

588 m

shrubs 75%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

May weather nearby: Tonota 31 km · Tutume 90 km · Selebi-Phikwe 96 km · Bobonong 131 km · Gwanda 158 km · Palapye 158 km · Serowe 158 km · Bulawayo 159 km

Botswana travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type D / G / M; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 38% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $7,778; 2025
Happiness: 3.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 63%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 11.4; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 26.4; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; 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 Francistown (-21.17°, 27.5078°, elevation 989 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	28	14
2	27	13
3	27	13
4	27	13
5	27	13
6	27	13
7	27	13
8	27	13
9	27	12
10	27	12
11	27	12
12	27	12
13	26	12
14	26	12
15	26	12
16	26	11
17	26	11
18	26	11
19	26	11
20	26	11
21	26	11
22	25	11
23	25	10
24	25	10
25	25	10
26	25	10
27	25	10
28	25	10
29	25	10
30	25	10
31	25	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	90	10
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	92	8
6	92	8
7	93	7
8	93	7
9	93	7
10	92	8
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	92	8
14	92	8
15	91	9
16	91	9
17	91	9
18	91	9
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	92	8
30	92	8
31	92	8

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	81	15	4
2	83	14	3
3	84	13	3
4	85	12	3
5	87	11	2
6	88	10	2
7	90	9	1
8	90	9	1
9	91	8	1
10	92	7	1
11	93	6	1
12	94	6	0
13	95	5	0
14	95	5	0
15	96	4	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	96	4	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	98	2	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	98	2	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	90	10
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	92	8
6	92	8
7	93	7
8	93	7
9	93	7
10	92	8
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	92	8
14	92	8
15	91	9
16	91	9
17	91	9
18	91	9
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	92	8
30	92	8
31	92	8

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	81	15	4
2	83	14	3
3	84	13	3
4	85	12	3
5	87	11	2
6	88	10	2
7	90	9	1
8	90	9	1
9	91	8	1
10	92	7	1
11	93	6	1
12	94	6	0
13	95	5	0
14	95	5	0
15	96	4	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	96	4	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	98	2	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	98	2	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	90	10
2	90	10
3	91	9
4	91	9
5	92	8
6	92	8
7	93	7
8	93	7
9	93	7
10	92	8
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	92	8
14	92	8
15	91	9
16	91	9
17	91	9
18	91	9
19	90	10
20	90	10
21	90	10
22	90	10
23	90	10
24	90	10
25	91	9
26	91	9
27	91	9
28	91	9
29	92	8
30	92	8
31	92	8

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	81	15	4
2	83	14	3
3	84	13	3
4	85	12	3
5	87	11	2
6	88	10	2
7	90	9	1
8	90	9	1
9	91	8	1
10	92	7	1
11	93	6	1
12	94	6	0
13	95	5	0
14	95	5	0
15	96	4	0
16	96	4	0
17	96	4	0
18	96	4	0
19	97	3	0
20	97	3	0
21	97	3	0
22	97	3	0
23	97	3	0
24	97	3	0
25	97	3	0
26	98	2	0
27	98	2	0
28	98	2	0
29	98	2	0
30	98	2	0
31	98	2	0