Tórshavn weather in May

In May, Tórshavn sees average daytime highs of 8°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 54 mm of precipitation across 11.8 wet days and about 17.2 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 8°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 54 min at the start of May to 18 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Tórshavn's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tórshavn's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 8°; 6th warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 7th coldest
Precipitation: 54 mm; 11.8 wet days
Daylight: 17 h 18 min; 3:45 AM – 9:02 PM
Cloud cover: 75%; 1st clearest
Wind: 24 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 4.74 kWh/m²
Travel score: 1.1; out of 10

Tórshavn is capital of the Faroe Islands.

Density: 113/km²; people per km²
Founded: ~901 CE

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

← April Tórshavn 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 8°C through the month.

A typical May day in Tórshavn reaches about 8°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 2°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 5°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 1°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)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Avg low (°C)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7

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

How May really feels in Tórshavn

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.

Tórshavn weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 6th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	6° / 4°	122	19.6	2.9	5.8	0.3
Feb	6° / 3°	95	16.7	3.4	8.3	0.2
Mar	6° / 3°	93	17.9	2.8	11.3	0.2
Apr	6° / 4°	67	13.9	1.3	14.3	0.5
May	8° / 6°	54	11.8	0.2	17.2	1.1
Jun	9° / 8°	46	8.9	0	19.1	1.8
Jul	11° / 9°	53	11.4	0	18.3	2.3
Aug	11° / 10°	68	11.9	0	15.7	2.6
Sep	11° / 9°	94	15	0	12.6	2.1
Oct	9° / 7°	117	18.2	0.1	9.6	1.4
Nov	7° / 5°	119	19.2	1.2	6.7	0.8
Dec	6° / 4°	125	19.1	3	4.9	0.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 75%.

	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 (%)	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	23	24
Cloudier (%)	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	74	75	75	75	75	75	75	76	76	76	76	76	76	76	76	77	76

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	26	74
2	26	74
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	26	74
6	26	74
7	26	74
8	26	74
9	26	74
10	26	74
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	26	74
14	26	74
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	25	75
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	24	76
23	24	76
24	24	76
25	24	76
26	24	76
27	24	76
28	24	76
29	24	76
30	23	77
31	24	76

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Tórshavn gets around 54 mm of rain and snow over 11.8 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 38% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. 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 (%)	42	41	41	40	40	40	40	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	38	37	37	36	36	35	34	34	33	32
Snow chance (%)	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	2
2	41	2
3	41	2
4	40	2
5	40	1
6	40	1
7	40	1
8	39	1
9	39	1
10	39	1
11	39	1
12	39	1
13	39	1
14	39	1
15	39	1
16	39	1
17	39	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	38	1
21	38	0
22	38	0
23	37	0
24	37	0
25	36	0
26	36	0
27	35	0
28	34	0
29	34	0
30	33	0
31	32	0

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	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in May

Winds average 24 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 22 km/h on the calmest days to 26 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)	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22
Feels	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 54 min at the start of May to 18 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 156 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:28 AM to 3:11 AM, and sunset from 8:21 PM to 9:38 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)	15.9	16.0	16.1	16.2	16.3	16.4	16.5	16.6	16.6	16.7	16.8	16.9	17.0	17.1	17.2	17.3	17.4	17.5	17.5	17.6	17.7	17.8	17.9	18.0	18.0	18.1	18.2	18.3	18.3	18.4	18.5
Sunrise (AM)	4:28	4:25	4:22	4:19	4:16	4:13	4:10	4:07	4:04	4:01	3:58	3:56	3:53	3:50	3:48	3:45	3:42	3:40	3:37	3:35	3:32	3:30	3:27	3:25	3:23	3:21	3:18	3:16	3:14	3:12	3:11
Sunset (PM)	8:21	8:24	8:26	8:29	8:32	8:35	8:37	8:40	8:43	8:46	8:48	8:51	8:54	8:56	8:59	9:02	9:04	9:07	9:10	9:12	9:15	9:17	9:20	9:22	9:25	9:27	9:29	9:32	9:34	9:36	9:38

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	15.9	4:28	8:21
2	16.0	4:25	8:24
3	16.1	4:22	8:26
4	16.2	4:19	8:29
5	16.3	4:16	8:32
6	16.4	4:13	8:35
7	16.5	4:10	8:37
8	16.6	4:07	8:40
9	16.6	4:04	8:43
10	16.7	4:01	8:46
11	16.8	3:58	8:48
12	16.9	3:56	8:51
13	17.0	3:53	8:54
14	17.1	3:50	8:56
15	17.2	3:48	8:59
16	17.3	3:45	9:02
17	17.4	3:42	9:04
18	17.5	3:40	9:07
19	17.5	3:37	9:10
20	17.6	3:35	9:12
21	17.7	3:32	9:15
22	17.8	3:30	9:17
23	17.9	3:27	9:20
24	18.0	3:25	9:22
25	18.0	3:23	9:25
26	18.1	3:21	9:27
27	18.2	3:18	9:29
28	18.3	3:16	9:32
29	18.3	3:14	9:34
30	18.4	3:12	9:36
31	18.5	3:11	9:38

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.74 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.11 kWh/m² to a high of 4.93 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 4.74 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)	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
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	4.2	Bright
2	4.3	Bright
3	4.3	Bright
4	4.3	Bright
5	4.4	Bright
6	4.4	Bright
7	4.5	Bright
8	4.5	Bright
9	4.5	Bright
10	4.6	Bright
11	4.6	Bright
12	4.6	Bright
13	4.7	Bright
14	4.7	Bright
15	4.7	Bright
16	4.7	Bright
17	4.7	Bright
18	4.8	Bright
19	4.8	Bright
20	4.8	Bright
21	4.8	Bright
22	4.8	Bright
23	4.9	Bright
24	4.9	Bright
25	4.9	Bright
26	4.9	Bright
27	4.9	Bright
28	5.0	Bright
29	5.0	Bright
30	5.0	Bright
31	5.0	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Tórshavn?

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

1.1

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Tórshavn.

What to pack for Tórshavn in May

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

In May, Tórshavn sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 6°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat, rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gearsun protectiona windbreaker

Sea temperature near Tórshavn in May

The nearest coast averages about 8°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 15 km away) is warmest in August at about 10°C and coldest in February 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	7	7	8	9	10	10	10	10	9	8
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

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

UV index in Tórshavn 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 Tórshavn peaks around July 14 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	0	0	1	2	4	4	5	3	2	1	0	0
Level	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	0	Low
Feb	0	Low
Mar	1	Low
Apr	2	Moderate
May	4	Moderate
Jun	4	Moderate
Jul	5	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	2	Low
Oct	1	Low
Nov	0	Low
Dec	0	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Tórshavn?

Tórshavn sits at 62.0°N, 6.8°W, 1 m above sea level, in Faroe Islands. The nearest listed city is Isle of Lewis, 422 km away.

Topography around Tórshavn

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tórshavn has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 345 m around an average of 80 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 765 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 887 m.

The land around Tórshavn is covered by grassland (42%) and water (39%) within 3 km, water (70%) and grassland (29%) within 16 km, and water (87%) within 80 km.

3 km

345 m

grassland 42%

16 km

765 m

water 70%

80 km

887 m

water 87%

treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Isle of Lewis 422 km · Elgin 522 km · Inverness 524 km · Peterhead 573 km · Fort William 585 km · Aberdeen 601 km · Nigg 604 km · Vik 642 km

Faroe Islands travel facts

Power plugs: Type C / E / F / K; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 94% of US; price level, 2024
GDP per capita: $74,175; 2024
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 Tórshavn (62.0097°, -6.7716°, elevation 1 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	7	5
2	7	5
3	7	5
4	7	5
5	7	5
6	7	5
7	7	5
8	7	5
9	7	5
10	7	5
11	7	5
12	7	6
13	7	6
14	7	6
15	7	6
16	8	6
17	8	6
18	8	6
19	8	6
20	8	6
21	8	6
22	8	6
23	8	6
24	8	6
25	8	6
26	8	6
27	8	7
28	8	7
29	8	7
30	8	7
31	8	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	26	74
2	26	74
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	26	74
6	26	74
7	26	74
8	26	74
9	26	74
10	26	74
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	26	74
14	26	74
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	25	75
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	24	76
23	24	76
24	24	76
25	24	76
26	24	76
27	24	76
28	24	76
29	24	76
30	23	77
31	24	76

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	2
2	41	2
3	41	2
4	40	2
5	40	1
6	40	1
7	40	1
8	39	1
9	39	1
10	39	1
11	39	1
12	39	1
13	39	1
14	39	1
15	39	1
16	39	1
17	39	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	38	1
21	38	0
22	38	0
23	37	0
24	37	0
25	36	0
26	36	0
27	35	0
28	34	0
29	34	0
30	33	0
31	32	0

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	26	74
2	26	74
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	26	74
6	26	74
7	26	74
8	26	74
9	26	74
10	26	74
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	26	74
14	26	74
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	25	75
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	24	76
23	24	76
24	24	76
25	24	76
26	24	76
27	24	76
28	24	76
29	24	76
30	23	77
31	24	76

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	2
2	41	2
3	41	2
4	40	2
5	40	1
6	40	1
7	40	1
8	39	1
9	39	1
10	39	1
11	39	1
12	39	1
13	39	1
14	39	1
15	39	1
16	39	1
17	39	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	38	1
21	38	0
22	38	0
23	37	0
24	37	0
25	36	0
26	36	0
27	35	0
28	34	0
29	34	0
30	33	0
31	32	0

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	26	74
2	26	74
3	26	74
4	26	74
5	26	74
6	26	74
7	26	74
8	26	74
9	26	74
10	26	74
11	26	74
12	26	74
13	26	74
14	26	74
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	25	75
18	25	75
19	25	75
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	24	76
23	24	76
24	24	76
25	24	76
26	24	76
27	24	76
28	24	76
29	24	76
30	23	77
31	24	76

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	42	2
2	41	2
3	41	2
4	40	2
5	40	1
6	40	1
7	40	1
8	39	1
9	39	1
10	39	1
11	39	1
12	39	1
13	39	1
14	39	1
15	39	1
16	39	1
17	39	1
18	39	1
19	39	1
20	38	1
21	38	0
22	38	0
23	37	0
24	37	0
25	36	0
26	36	0
27	35	0
28	34	0
29	34	0
30	33	0
31	32	0

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