Santa Cruz weather in May

In May, Santa Cruz sees average daytime highs of 31°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 39 mm of rain across 7.4 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 31°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in May, and the air most often feels muggy.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 48 min at the start of May to 11 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Santa Cruz's 8th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Santa Cruz's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 31°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 22°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 39 mm; 7.4 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 42 min; 5:29 AM – 5:12 PM
Cloud cover: 57%; 8th clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 4.84 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.0; out of 10

Santa Cruz is settlement in Brazil.

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

← April Santa Cruz 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 31°C through the month.

A typical May day in Santa Cruz reaches about 31°C in the afternoon and slips back to 22°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 28°C and 33°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and about 1°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)	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30
Avg low (°C)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22

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

How May really feels in Santa Cruz

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 31 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

The story in May is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Santa Cruz weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	32° / 23°	32	8	12.3	4.1
Feb	32° / 23°	39	9.4	12.2	3.9
Mar	32° / 23°	61	12.5	12	3.8
Apr	31° / 23°	62	12.4	11.9	4.2
May	31° / 22°	39	7.4	11.7	5.0
Jun	29° / 21°	30	5.5	11.6	5.8
Jul	29° / 20°	22	4.1	11.7	6.2
Aug	30° / 20°	7	1.4	11.8	6.1
Sep	31° / 21°	3	0.9	12	5.6
Oct	32° / 21°	3	0.6	12.1	5.0
Nov	32° / 22°	4	0.8	12.3	4.8
Dec	32° / 22°	10	3	12.4	4.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 30% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 42%.

	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 (%)	51	51	52	53	53	53	54	55	56	56	56	57	57	57	57	58	59	58	59	59	59	60	60	60	61	61	62	62	62	62	63
Cloudier (%)	49	49	48	47	47	47	46	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	42	41	42	41	41	41	40	40	40	39	39	38	38	38	38	37

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	52	48
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	54	46
8	55	45
9	56	44
10	56	44
11	56	44
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	57	43
15	57	43
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	60	40
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	63	37

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Santa Cruz gets around 39 mm of rain over 7.4 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 24% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	33	32	31	30	29	28	27	26	25	25	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	20	20	20

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	32
3	31
4	30
5	29
6	28
7	27
8	26
9	25
10	25
11	24
12	24
13	23
14	23
15	23
16	23
17	23
18	23
19	23
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	22
24	22
25	22
26	21
27	21
28	21
29	20
30	20
31	20

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, May lands in the muggy band about 56% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 98% of them.

	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
Humid (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3
Muggy (%)	40	42	43	44	46	47	49	50	52	53	54	56	57	58	58	59	59	60	59	60	60	60	61	62	63	63	64	65	66	68	70
Oppressive (%)	59	57	56	55	53	52	50	49	47	46	45	43	42	41	41	40	40	39	39	38	38	38	37	36	35	34	33	32	31	29	27

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	40	59
2	1	42	57
3	1	43	56
4	1	44	55
5	1	46	53
6	1	47	52
7	1	49	50
8	1	50	49
9	1	52	47
10	1	53	46
11	1	54	45
12	1	56	43
13	1	57	42
14	1	58	41
15	1	58	41
16	1	59	40
17	1	59	40
18	1	60	39
19	2	59	39
20	2	60	38
21	2	60	38
22	2	60	38
23	2	61	37
24	2	62	36
25	2	63	35
26	3	63	34
27	3	64	33
28	3	65	32
29	3	66	31
30	3	68	29
31	3	70	27

Wind in May

Winds average 14 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 15 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	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15
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	14	light breeze
5	14	light breeze
6	14	light breeze
7	14	light breeze
8	14	light breeze
9	14	light breeze
10	14	light breeze
11	14	light breeze
12	14	light breeze
13	14	light breeze
14	14	light breeze
15	14	light breeze
16	14	light breeze
17	14	light breeze
18	14	light breeze
19	14	light breeze
20	14	light breeze
21	14	light breeze
22	14	light breeze
23	14	light breeze
24	14	light breeze
25	14	light breeze
26	14	light breeze
27	14	light breeze
28	14	light breeze
29	15	light breeze
30	15	light breeze
31	15	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 48 min at the start of May to 11 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:28 AM to 5:31 AM, and sunset from 5:15 PM to 5:12 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)	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7
Sunrise (AM)	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:29	5:29	5:29	5:29	5:29	5:29	5:29	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:31	5:31	5:31	5:31	5:31
Sunset (PM)	5:15	5:15	5:14	5:14	5:14	5:14	5:13	5:13	5:13	5:13	5:13	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:12	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:12

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.8	5:28	5:15
2	11.8	5:28	5:15
3	11.8	5:28	5:14
4	11.8	5:28	5:14
5	11.8	5:28	5:14
6	11.8	5:28	5:14
7	11.8	5:28	5:13
8	11.8	5:28	5:13
9	11.7	5:28	5:13
10	11.7	5:28	5:13
11	11.7	5:28	5:13
12	11.7	5:28	5:12
13	11.7	5:28	5:12
14	11.7	5:29	5:12
15	11.7	5:29	5:12
16	11.7	5:29	5:12
17	11.7	5:29	5:12
18	11.7	5:29	5:12
19	11.7	5:29	5:12
20	11.7	5:29	5:12
21	11.7	5:30	5:11
22	11.7	5:30	5:11
23	11.7	5:30	5:11
24	11.7	5:30	5:11
25	11.7	5:30	5:11
26	11.7	5:30	5:11
27	11.7	5:31	5:11
28	11.7	5:31	5:11
29	11.7	5:31	5:11
30	11.7	5:31	5:11
31	11.7	5:31	5:12

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.84 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.32 kWh/m² to a high of 6.44 kWh/m² in November across the year — May's 4.84 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)	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.6
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	5.0	Bright
2	5.0	Bright
3	5.0	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	5.0	Bright
6	5.0	Bright
7	5.0	Bright
8	5.0	Bright
9	4.9	Bright
10	4.9	Bright
11	4.9	Bright
12	4.9	Bright
13	4.9	Bright
14	4.9	Bright
15	4.9	Bright
16	4.9	Bright
17	4.8	Bright
18	4.8	Bright
19	4.8	Bright
20	4.8	Bright
21	4.8	Bright
22	4.8	Bright
23	4.7	Bright
24	4.7	Bright
25	4.7	Bright
26	4.7	Bright
27	4.7	Bright
28	4.7	Bright
29	4.6	Bright
30	4.6	Bright
31	4.6	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Santa Cruz?

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

5.0

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

7.1

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Santa Cruz for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Santa Cruz in May

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

In May, Santa Cruz sees daytime highs around 31°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection. About 7 days see rain.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Santa Cruz in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Santa Cruz peaks around March 12 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 15 at about 10 (very 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)	14	15	16	14	11	10	10	10	13	12	12	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	15	Extreme
Mar	16	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	11	Extreme
Jun	10	Extreme
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	10	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Santa Cruz?

Santa Cruz sits at 6.2°S, 36.0°W, 230 m above sea level, in Brazil. The nearest listed city is Cuité, 32 km away.

Topography around Santa Cruz

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Cruz has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 97 m around an average of 240 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 389 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 734 m.

The land around Santa Cruz is covered by grassland (57%) and shrubs (25%) within 3 km, shrubs (67%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and shrubs (62%) and grassland (35%) within 80 km.

3 km

97 m

grassland 57%

16 km

389 m

shrubs 67%

80 km

734 m

shrubs 62%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Cuité 32 km · São Paulo do Potengi 47 km · Picuí 48 km · Araruna 48 km · Lagoa Nova 52 km · Cacimba de Dentro 53 km · Currais Novos 55 km · Santo Antônio 61 km

Brazil travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / N; 127 / 220 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 46% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $10,713; 2025
Happiness: 6.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 89%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 19.3; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 16; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 482
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 Santa Cruz (-6.2294°, -36.0228°, elevation 230 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	31	22
2	31	22
3	31	22
4	31	22
5	31	22
6	31	22
7	31	22
8	31	22
9	31	22
10	31	22
11	31	22
12	31	22
13	31	22
14	31	22
15	31	22
16	31	22
17	31	22
18	31	22
19	31	22
20	31	22
21	31	22
22	30	22
23	30	22
24	30	22
25	30	22
26	30	22
27	30	22
28	30	22
29	30	22
30	30	22
31	30	22

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	52	48
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	54	46
8	55	45
9	56	44
10	56	44
11	56	44
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	57	43
15	57	43
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	60	40
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	32
3	31
4	30
5	29
6	28
7	27
8	26
9	25
10	25
11	24
12	24
13	23
14	23
15	23
16	23
17	23
18	23
19	23
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	22
24	22
25	22
26	21
27	21
28	21
29	20
30	20
31	20

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	40	59
2	1	42	57
3	1	43	56
4	1	44	55
5	1	46	53
6	1	47	52
7	1	49	50
8	1	50	49
9	1	52	47
10	1	53	46
11	1	54	45
12	1	56	43
13	1	57	42
14	1	58	41
15	1	58	41
16	1	59	40
17	1	59	40
18	1	60	39
19	2	59	39
20	2	60	38
21	2	60	38
22	2	60	38
23	2	61	37
24	2	62	36
25	2	63	35
26	3	63	34
27	3	64	33
28	3	65	32
29	3	66	31
30	3	68	29
31	3	70	27

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	52	48
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	54	46
8	55	45
9	56	44
10	56	44
11	56	44
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	57	43
15	57	43
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	60	40
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	32
3	31
4	30
5	29
6	28
7	27
8	26
9	25
10	25
11	24
12	24
13	23
14	23
15	23
16	23
17	23
18	23
19	23
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	22
24	22
25	22
26	21
27	21
28	21
29	20
30	20
31	20

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	40	59
2	1	42	57
3	1	43	56
4	1	44	55
5	1	46	53
6	1	47	52
7	1	49	50
8	1	50	49
9	1	52	47
10	1	53	46
11	1	54	45
12	1	56	43
13	1	57	42
14	1	58	41
15	1	58	41
16	1	59	40
17	1	59	40
18	1	60	39
19	2	59	39
20	2	60	38
21	2	60	38
22	2	60	38
23	2	61	37
24	2	62	36
25	2	63	35
26	3	63	34
27	3	64	33
28	3	65	32
29	3	66	31
30	3	68	29
31	3	70	27

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	52	48
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	54	46
8	55	45
9	56	44
10	56	44
11	56	44
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	57	43
15	57	43
16	58	42
17	59	41
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	60	40
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	62	38
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	63	37

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	32
3	31
4	30
5	29
6	28
7	27
8	26
9	25
10	25
11	24
12	24
13	23
14	23
15	23
16	23
17	23
18	23
19	23
20	23
21	22
22	22
23	22
24	22
25	22
26	21
27	21
28	21
29	20
30	20
31	20

	Humid (%)	Muggy (%)	Oppressive (%)
1	1	40	59
2	1	42	57
3	1	43	56
4	1	44	55
5	1	46	53
6	1	47	52
7	1	49	50
8	1	50	49
9	1	52	47
10	1	53	46
11	1	54	45
12	1	56	43
13	1	57	42
14	1	58	41
15	1	58	41
16	1	59	40
17	1	59	40
18	1	60	39
19	2	59	39
20	2	60	38
21	2	60	38
22	2	60	38
23	2	61	37
24	2	62	36
25	2	63	35
26	3	63	34
27	3	64	33
28	3	65	32
29	3	66	31
30	3	68	29
31	3	70	27