Courtenay weather in May

In May, Courtenay sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 82 mm of rain across 11.1 wet days and about 15.1 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 24 min at the start of May to 15 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Courtenay's 5th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Courtenay's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 82 mm; 11.1 wet days
Daylight: 15 h 06 min; 4:42 AM – 7:50 PM
Cloud cover: 63%; 5th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 5.46 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.6; out of 10

Courtenay is city in British Columbia, Canada.

Air quality: Good; PM2.5 8 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 877/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1969

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

← April Courtenay 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 climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical May day in Courtenay reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 2°C cooler 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)	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11

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

How May really feels in Courtenay

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.

Courtenay weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	5° / 3°	299	19.8	6.5	8.4	0.1
Feb	6° / 3°	179	15.2	5.2	9.8	0.5
Mar	8° / 4°	205	17.9	4.8	11.5	1.1
Apr	11° / 6°	134	15.1	0.6	13.4	2.4
May	15° / 9°	82	11.1	0	15.1	4.6
Jun	18° / 12°	74	11.3	0	16	5.6
Jul	21° / 14°	47	7.8	0	15.7	7.0
Aug	21° / 15°	67	8.2	0	14.2	7.0
Sep	18° / 12°	111	10.6	0	12.4	5.6
Oct	12° / 8°	239	18.3	0.1	10.5	2.7
Nov	8° / 5°	326	20.3	3.2	8.8	0.9
Dec	5° / 3°	302	20.3	6.9	8	0.1

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 26% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 59%.

	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 (%)	41	41	40	40	41	41	41	41	40	41	41	40	40	41	40	40	40	41	42	42	42	42	43	42	43	43	43	44	43	43	43
Cloudier (%)	59	59	60	60	59	59	59	59	60	59	59	60	60	59	60	60	60	59	58	58	58	58	57	58	57	57	57	56	57	57	57

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	41	59
6	41	59
7	41	59
8	41	59
9	40	60
10	41	59
11	41	59
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	40	60
16	40	60
17	40	60
18	41	59
19	42	58
20	42	58
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	43	57
24	42	58
25	43	57
26	43	57
27	43	57
28	44	56
29	43	57
30	43	57
31	43	57

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Courtenay gets around 82 mm of rain over 11.1 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 36% and peaks near 43% 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 (%)	43	43	42	41	40	39	38	38	37	36	35	35	34	34	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	35	36	36

	Rain chance (%)
1	43
2	43
3	42
4	41
5	40
6	39
7	38
8	38
9	37
10	36
11	35
12	35
13	34
14	34
15	33
16	33
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	35
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

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 100% 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 (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

Wind in May

Winds average 7 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 8 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)	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
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	8	calm
2	8	calm
3	8	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 24 min at the start of May to 15 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 78 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:06 AM to 4:25 AM, and sunset from 7:28 PM to 8:09 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)	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.2	15.3	15.3	15.4	15.4	15.4	15.5	15.5	15.6	15.6	15.6	15.7	15.7	15.7
Sunrise (AM)	5:06	5:04	5:03	5:01	4:59	4:57	4:56	4:54	4:53	4:51	4:49	4:48	4:46	4:45	4:43	4:42	4:41	4:39	4:38	4:37	4:36	4:34	4:33	4:32	4:31	4:30	4:29	4:28	4:27	4:26	4:25
Sunset (PM)	7:28	7:30	7:31	7:33	7:34	7:36	7:37	7:39	7:40	7:42	7:43	7:45	7:46	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:52	7:53	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:04	8:05	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.4	5:06	7:28
2	14.4	5:04	7:30
3	14.5	5:03	7:31
4	14.5	5:01	7:33
5	14.6	4:59	7:34
6	14.6	4:57	7:36
7	14.7	4:56	7:37
8	14.7	4:54	7:39
9	14.8	4:53	7:40
10	14.8	4:51	7:42
11	14.9	4:49	7:43
12	14.9	4:48	7:45
13	15.0	4:46	7:46
14	15.0	4:45	7:48
15	15.1	4:43	7:49
16	15.1	4:42	7:50
17	15.2	4:41	7:52
18	15.2	4:39	7:53
19	15.3	4:38	7:55
20	15.3	4:37	7:56
21	15.4	4:36	7:57
22	15.4	4:34	7:59
23	15.4	4:33	8:00
24	15.5	4:32	8:01
25	15.5	4:31	8:02
26	15.6	4:30	8:04
27	15.6	4:29	8:05
28	15.6	4:28	8:06
29	15.7	4:27	8:07
30	15.7	4:26	8:08
31	15.7	4:25	8:09

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.46 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.66 kWh/m² to a high of 6.08 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 5.46 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6
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	5.1	Bright
4	5.2	Bright
5	5.2	Bright
6	5.3	Bright
7	5.3	Bright
8	5.3	Bright
9	5.4	Bright
10	5.4	Bright
11	5.4	Bright
12	5.5	Bright
13	5.5	Bright
14	5.5	Bright
15	5.5	Bright
16	5.5	Bright
17	5.5	Bright
18	5.5	Bright
19	5.5	Bright
20	5.5	Bright
21	5.5	Bright
22	5.5	Bright
23	5.5	Bright
24	5.5	Bright
25	5.5	Bright
26	5.6	Bright
27	5.6	Bright
28	5.6	Bright
29	5.6	Bright
30	5.6	Bright
31	5.6	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Courtenay

In seasonPeak

None of Courtenay's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Courtenay's rainy season runs October–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Courtenay?

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

4.6

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.5

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Courtenay for sightseeing.

What to pack for Courtenay in May

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

In May, Courtenay sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Courtenay in May

The nearest coast averages about 13°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in January near 7°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	7	7	8	10	13	15	17	17	15	12	9	8
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	7	Bracing
Feb	7	Bracing
Mar	8	Bracing
Apr	10	Bracing
May	13	Bracing
Jun	15	Cool
Jul	17	Cool
Aug	17	Cool
Sep	15	Bracing
Oct	12	Bracing
Nov	9	Bracing
Dec	8	Bracing

UV index in Courtenay 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 Courtenay peaks around July 18 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	1	3	4	7	6	8	6	4	3	1	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	1	Low
Mar	3	Moderate
Apr	4	Moderate
May	7	High
Jun	6	High
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	6	High
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Courtenay?

Courtenay sits at 49.7°N, 125.0°W, 13 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Campbell River, 41 km away.

Topography around Courtenay

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Courtenay has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 108 m around an average of 32 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,243 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,075 m.

The land around Courtenay is covered by trees (52%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, trees (52%) and water (34%) within 16 km, and trees (68%) and water (26%) within 80 km.

3 km

108 m

trees 52%

16 km

1,243 m

trees 52%

80 km

2,075 m

trees 68%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Campbell River 41 km · Port Alberni 51 km · Tofino 89 km · Nanaimo 96 km · Harewood 97 km · Squamish 132 km · North Cowichan 134 km · University Endowment Lands 135 km

Canada travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 83% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $55,698; 2025
Happiness: 6.7 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 97%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 2; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 5.3; 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 Courtenay (49.6866°, -124.9936°, elevation 13 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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	13	7
2	13	7
3	14	7
4	14	7
5	14	8
6	14	8
7	14	8
8	14	8
9	15	8
10	15	8
11	15	8
12	15	9
13	15	9
14	15	9
15	15	9
16	16	9
17	16	9
18	16	9
19	16	10
20	16	10
21	16	10
22	16	10
23	16	10
24	16	10
25	16	10
26	17	10
27	17	10
28	17	10
29	17	11
30	17	11
31	17	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	41	59
6	41	59
7	41	59
8	41	59
9	40	60
10	41	59
11	41	59
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	40	60
16	40	60
17	40	60
18	41	59
19	42	58
20	42	58
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	43	57
24	42	58
25	43	57
26	43	57
27	43	57
28	44	56
29	43	57
30	43	57
31	43	57

	Rain chance (%)
1	43
2	43
3	42
4	41
5	40
6	39
7	38
8	38
9	37
10	36
11	35
12	35
13	34
14	34
15	33
16	33
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	35
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	41	59
6	41	59
7	41	59
8	41	59
9	40	60
10	41	59
11	41	59
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	40	60
16	40	60
17	40	60
18	41	59
19	42	58
20	42	58
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	43	57
24	42	58
25	43	57
26	43	57
27	43	57
28	44	56
29	43	57
30	43	57
31	43	57

	Rain chance (%)
1	43
2	43
3	42
4	41
5	40
6	39
7	38
8	38
9	37
10	36
11	35
12	35
13	34
14	34
15	33
16	33
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	35
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	41	59
2	41	59
3	40	60
4	40	60
5	41	59
6	41	59
7	41	59
8	41	59
9	40	60
10	41	59
11	41	59
12	40	60
13	40	60
14	41	59
15	40	60
16	40	60
17	40	60
18	41	59
19	42	58
20	42	58
21	42	58
22	42	58
23	43	57
24	42	58
25	43	57
26	43	57
27	43	57
28	44	56
29	43	57
30	43	57
31	43	57

	Rain chance (%)
1	43
2	43
3	42
4	41
5	40
6	39
7	38
8	38
9	37
10	36
11	35
12	35
13	34
14	34
15	33
16	33
17	33
18	33
19	33
20	33
21	33
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	35
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1