Sault Ste. Marie weather in May

In May, Sault Ste. Marie sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 72 mm of precipitation across 10 wet days and about 14.8 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Sault Ste. Marie's 5th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sault Ste. Marie's year-round climate.

Daytime high
15°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
72 mm
10 wet days
Daylight
14 h 48 min
5:10 AM – 7:57 PM
Cloud cover
61%
5th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
6 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.4
out of 10

Sault Ste. Marie is city in Ontario, Canada.

Air quality
Excellent
PM2.5 5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
323/km²
people per km²
Founded
1888

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical May day in Sault Ste. Marie reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 7°C warmer than April and about 6°C cooler than June.

10°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1113
2123
3123
4123
5124
6134
7134
8134
9134
10135
11145
12145
13145
14145
15146
16156
17156
18156
19156
20167
21167
22167
23167
24167
25178
26178
27178
28178
29178
30189
31189

How May really feels in Sault Ste. Marie

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 3 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
3
wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Sault Ste. Marie weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-6° / -14°4610.212.28.80.0
Feb-5° / -13°357.58.1100.0
Mar / -8°468.36.811.60.0
Apr / -1°6710.2413.31.2
May15° / 72100.314.84.4
Jun20° / 11°819.8015.56.3
Jul23° / 15°10111.5015.26.7
Aug22° / 14°9510.90146.6
Sep18° / 10°10812.1012.45.4
Oct11° / 10113.70.510.72.4
Nov / -2°6711.26.69.20.1
Dec-2° / -9°5611118.40.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 56%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14456
24456
34456
44357
54357
64258
74258
84357
94357
104357
114357
124258
134258
144357
154357
164456
174357
184456
194456
204555
214555
224555
234555
244555
254555
264555
274555
284555
294555
304555
314555

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Sault Ste. Marie gets around 72 mm of rain and snow over 10 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 32% and peaks near 34% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1305
2304
3294
4293
5293
6292
7292
8292
9291
10301
11301
12301
13311
14311
15321
16320
17330
18330
19330
20340
21340
22340
23340
24340
25340
26340
27340
28340
29340
30330
31330

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 95% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
110000
29910
39910
49910
59910
69910
79910
89910
99910
109820
119820
129820
139820
149820
159730
169730
179631
189541
199451
209451
219262
229262
239172
249073
258983
268983
278884
288794
298794
308794
3186104

Wind in May

Winds average 12 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112light breeze
212light breeze
312light breeze
412light breeze
512light breeze
613light breeze
713light breeze
813light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2012light breeze
2112light breeze
2212light breeze
2312light breeze
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:31 AM to 4:55 AM, and sunset from 7:38 PM to 8:14 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.15:317:38
214.25:307:39
314.25:287:41
414.35:267:42
514.35:257:43
614.45:237:45
714.45:227:46
814.45:207:47
914.55:197:48
1014.55:187:50
1114.65:167:51
1214.65:157:52
1314.75:147:54
1414.75:127:55
1514.85:117:56
1614.85:107:57
1714.85:097:59
1814.95:078:00
1914.95:068:01
2014.95:058:02
2115.05:048:03
2215.05:038:04
2315.15:028:06
2415.15:018:07
2515.15:008:08
2615.24:598:09
2715.24:598:10
2815.24:588:11
2915.34:578:12
3015.34:568:13
3115.34:558:14

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.1 kWh/m² to a high of 6.52 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 6 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.7Bright
25.7Bright
35.8Bright
45.8Bright
55.8Bright
65.8Bright
75.8Bright
85.8Bright
95.9Bright
105.9Bright
115.9Bright
125.9Bright
135.9Bright
145.9Bright
156.0Bright
166.0Bright
176.0Bright
186.0Intense
196.0Intense
206.0Intense
216.1Intense
226.1Intense
236.1Intense
246.2Intense
256.2Intense
266.2Intense
276.2Intense
286.2Intense
296.3Intense
306.3Intense
316.3Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Sault Ste. Marie?

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

4.4
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.5
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Sault Ste. Marie for sightseeing.

What to pack for Sault Ste. Marie in May

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

In May, Sault Ste. Marie sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 6°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Sault Ste. Marie in May

The nearest coast averages about 5°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 16 km away) is warmest in August at about 19°C and coldest in February near 1°C.

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

0°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan1Bracing
Feb1Bracing
Mar1Bracing
Apr2Bracing
May5Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug19Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct11Bracing
Nov7Bracing
Dec4Bracing

UV index in Sault Ste. Marie 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 Sault Ste. Marie peaks around June 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 18UV 8Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun8Very high
Jul7Very high
Aug7High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Sault Ste. Marie?

Sault Ste. Marie sits at 46.5°N, 84.3°W, 186 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Sault Ste. Marie, 3.0 km away.

TimminsMidland

Topography around Sault Ste. Marie

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sault Ste. Marie has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 82 m around an average of 198 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 263 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 491 m.

The land around Sault Ste. Marie is covered by artificial surfaces (45%) and trees (24%) within 3 km, trees (65%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) and water (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
82 m
16 km
263 m
80 km
491 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Sault Ste. Marie 3.0 km · Mackinac Island 77 km · Traverse City 219 km · Marquette 234 km · Valley East 255 km · Greater Sudbury 256 km · Timmins 313 km · Midland 323 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
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

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 Sault Ste. Marie (46.5168°, -84.3333°, elevation 186 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).