Tartu weather in May

In May, Tartu sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 53 mm of precipitation across 10.6 wet days and about 16.4 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 18 min at the start of May to 17 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Tartu's 1st-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tartu's year-round climate.

Daytime high
16°
4th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
53 mm
10.6 wet days
Daylight
16 h 30 min
3:56 AM – 8:23 PM
Cloud cover
61%
1st clearest
Wind
13 km/h
10th windiest
Solar energy
5.4 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.9
out of 10

Tartu is second most populous city in Estonia.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 5.4 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
2,346/km²
people per km²
Founded
1030

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 14°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical May day in Tartu reaches about 16°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 10°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 6°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

10°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1134
2144
3144
4145
5145
6145
7145
8155
9155
10155
11156
12156
13156
14166
15166
16166
17167
18167
19167
20167
21177
22177
23178
24178
25178
26178
27188
28189
29189
30189
31189

How May really feels in Tartu

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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
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.

Tartu weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 4th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-2° / -6°4010.49.66.80.0
Feb-2° / -7°358.88.28.90.0
Mar / -4°359611.40.0
Apr10° / 399.62.1142.1
May16° / 5310.60.116.44.9
Jun20° / 11°8413.2017.85.6
Jul22° / 14°6812.3017.36.3
Aug21° / 12°7512.8015.15.9
Sep16° / 5010.3012.54.5
Oct / 5811.21.19.91.6
Nov / -1°5010.74.67.50.0
Dec-0° / -4°4410.88.36.20.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 55%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14357
24357
34357
44456
54456
64456
74654
84555
94654
104654
114753
124753
134753
144753
154654
164555
174555
184555
194555
204555
214555
224456
234456
244456
254555
264555
274555
284555
294654
304654
314654

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Tartu gets around 53 mm of rain and snow over 10.6 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 34% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
130
231
331
431
531
632
732
832
932
1033
1133
1233
1334
1434
1534
1635
1735
1835
1936
2036
2136
2236
2336
2436
2536
2636
2736
2835
2935
3035
3135

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
210000
310000
410000
59910
69910
79910
89820
99820
109820
119730
129730
139730
149541
159541
169541
179451
189451
199451
209451
219451
229352
239352
249262
259262
269262
279262
289163
299163
309073
319073

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.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
113light breeze
213light breeze
313light breeze
413light breeze
513light breeze
613light breeze
713light breeze
813light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1713light breeze
1813light breeze
1913light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze
3113light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 18 min at the start of May to 17 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 126 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:31 AM to 3:29 AM, and sunset from 7:50 PM to 8:52 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.34:317:50
215.44:287:52
315.54:267:54
415.64:237:56
515.64:217:59
615.74:188:01
715.84:168:03
815.94:148:06
915.94:118:08
1016.04:098:10
1116.14:078:12
1216.24:048:14
1316.24:028:17
1416.34:008:19
1516.43:588:21
1616.53:568:23
1716.53:548:25
1816.63:528:27
1916.73:508:29
2016.73:488:31
2116.83:468:33
2216.93:448:35
2316.93:428:37
2417.03:408:39
2517.03:398:41
2617.13:378:43
2717.23:358:45
2817.23:348:46
2917.33:328:48
3017.33:318:50
3117.43:298:52

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.4 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.22 kWh/m² to a high of 5.65 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.4 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.9Bright
24.9Bright
35.0Bright
45.0Bright
55.0Bright
65.1Bright
75.1Bright
85.2Bright
95.2Bright
105.2Bright
115.3Bright
125.3Bright
135.3Bright
145.4Bright
155.4Bright
165.4Bright
175.4Bright
185.5Bright
195.5Bright
205.5Bright
215.5Bright
225.6Bright
235.6Bright
245.6Bright
255.6Bright
265.7Bright
275.7Bright
285.7Bright
295.7Bright
305.8Bright
315.8Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Tartu?

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

4.9
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.7
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Tartu for sightseeing.

What to pack for Tartu in May

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

In May, Tartu sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Tartu in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Tartu peaks around June 21 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 5 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 21UV 5Dec 17UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun6High
Jul5High
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Tartu?

Tartu sits at 58.4°N, 26.7°E, 39 m above sea level, in Estonia. The nearest listed city is Otepää, 38 km away.

OtepääViljandiValgaRakverePskovSlantsyKohtla-JärveValmiera

Topography around Tartu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tartu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 65 m around an average of 52 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 135 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 m.

The land around Tartu is covered by artificial surfaces (37%), trees (34%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, trees (40%), cropland (34%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and trees (53%) within 80 km.

3 km
65 m
16 km
135 m
80 km
292 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
May weather nearby: Otepää 38 km · Viljandi 66 km · Valga 78 km · Rakvere 110 km · Pskov 113 km · Slantsy 114 km · Kohtla-Järve 117 km · Valmiera 121 km

Estonia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 66% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$34,418
2025
Happiness
6.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.5
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4.5
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 561
Religion
none 58%Orthodox 17%Protestant 9%other 3%

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 Tartu (58.3806°, 26.7251°, elevation 39 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).