Cherbourg weather in May

In May, Cherbourg sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 46 mm of rain across 9 wet days and about 15.1 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 15°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% 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 Cherbourg's 6th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Cherbourg's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 6th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 46 mm; 9 wet days
Daylight: 15 h 06 min; 5:29 AM – 8:37 PM
Cloud cover: 62%; 6th clearest
Wind: 21 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 5.86 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.9; out of 10

Cherbourg is former commune of Manche, France.

Density: 3,857/km²; people per km²

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

← April Cherbourg 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 12°C in the first days to 15°C by the end.

A typical May day in Cherbourg reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C warmer than April and about 3°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)	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15
Avg low (°C)	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12

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

Cherbourg 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	9° / 6°	85	13.8	0.4	8.4	1.5
Feb	9° / 6°	65	12.7	0.6	9.8	1.4
Mar	10° / 7°	55	10.8	0.2	11.5	2.0
Apr	11° / 8°	50	10.2	0	13.4	2.8
May	14° / 11°	46	9	0	15.1	3.9
Jun	16° / 13°	45	8.6	0	16	5.1
Jul	18° / 15°	41	7.9	0	15.6	6.2
Aug	19° / 16°	56	9.4	0	14.2	6.2
Sep	17° / 15°	57	9.5	0	12.4	5.6
Oct	15° / 12°	97	14.6	0	10.5	4.0
Nov	12° / 10°	103	15.6	0	8.9	2.7
Dec	10° / 7°	108	15.7	0.4	8	1.9

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 57%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	38	38	38	38	39	39	40	41	41	41	42	42	43	44	44	44	45	45	45	45	45	46	46	46	46	46	46	45	44	44	44
Cloudier (%)	62	62	62	62	61	61	60	59	59	59	58	58	57	56	56	56	55	55	55	55	55	54	54	54	54	54	54	55	56	56	56

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

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Cherbourg gets around 46 mm of rain over 9 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 30% and peaks near 36% 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 (%)	36	35	34	33	33	32	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	28	28	27	27	27	27	27

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

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 96% 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	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	98	98	98	97	97	96	96	95	95	94	93	93	92	91	90	90	89	88
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	7	7	8	9	10	10	11	12

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	94	6
24	93	7
25	93	7
26	92	8
27	91	9
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	89	11
31	88	12

Wind in May

Winds average 21 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 20 km/h on the calmest days to 21 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)	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
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	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

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 5:53 AM to 5:12 AM, and sunset from 8:15 PM to 8:56 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)	5:53	5:51	5:49	5:47	5:46	5:44	5:42	5:41	5:39	5:38	5:36	5:34	5:33	5:32	5:30	5:29	5:27	5:26	5:25	5:23	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:19	5:18	5:17	5:16	5:15	5:14	5:13	5:12
Sunset (PM)	8:15	8:16	8:18	8:19	8:21	8:22	8:24	8:25	8:27	8:28	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:34	8:35	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:41	8:42	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:47	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:52	8:53	8:54	8:56

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.4	5:53	8:15
2	14.4	5:51	8:16
3	14.5	5:49	8:18
4	14.5	5:47	8:19
5	14.6	5:46	8:21
6	14.6	5:44	8:22
7	14.7	5:42	8:24
8	14.7	5:41	8:25
9	14.8	5:39	8:27
10	14.8	5:38	8:28
11	14.9	5:36	8:30
12	14.9	5:34	8:31
13	15.0	5:33	8:32
14	15.0	5:32	8:34
15	15.1	5:30	8:35
16	15.1	5:29	8:37
17	15.2	5:27	8:38
18	15.2	5:26	8:39
19	15.3	5:25	8:41
20	15.3	5:23	8:42
21	15.4	5:22	8:44
22	15.4	5:21	8:45
23	15.4	5:20	8:46
24	15.5	5:19	8:47
25	15.5	5:18	8:49
26	15.6	5:17	8:50
27	15.6	5:16	8:51
28	15.6	5:15	8:52
29	15.7	5:14	8:53
30	15.7	5:13	8:54
31	15.7	5:12	8:56

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.86 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.79 kWh/m² to a high of 6.35 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.86 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)	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.2
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.4	Bright
2	5.4	Bright
3	5.4	Bright
4	5.5	Bright
5	5.5	Bright
6	5.5	Bright
7	5.6	Bright
8	5.6	Bright
9	5.6	Bright
10	5.7	Bright
11	5.7	Bright
12	5.7	Bright
13	5.8	Bright
14	5.8	Bright
15	5.8	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.9	Bright
18	5.9	Bright
19	5.9	Bright
20	6.0	Bright
21	6.0	Bright
22	6.0	Intense
23	6.0	Intense
24	6.0	Intense
25	6.1	Intense
26	6.1	Intense
27	6.1	Intense
28	6.1	Intense
29	6.1	Intense
30	6.1	Intense
31	6.2	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Cherbourg?

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

3.9

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

6th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Cherbourg.

What to pack for Cherbourg in May

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

In May, Cherbourg sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protectiona windbreaker

Sea temperature near Cherbourg in May

The nearest coast averages about 12°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 19 km away) is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in March near 9°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)	10	9	9	10	12	14	16	17	17	16	14	12
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	10	Bracing
Feb	9	Bracing
Mar	9	Bracing
Apr	10	Bracing
May	12	Bracing
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	16	Cool
Aug	17	Cool
Sep	17	Cool
Oct	16	Cool
Nov	14	Bracing
Dec	12	Bracing

UV index in Cherbourg in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cherbourg peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	2	3	5	6	7	6	7	5	3	1	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Low
Mar	3	Moderate
Apr	5	Moderate
May	6	High
Jun	7	High
Jul	6	High
Aug	7	High
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	3	Moderate
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Cherbourg?

Cherbourg sits at 49.6°N, 1.6°W, 6 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Octeville, 2.0 km away.

Topography around Cherbourg

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cherbourg has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 165 m around an average of 35 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 192 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 223 m.

The land around Cherbourg is covered by artificial surfaces (37%), trees (26%) and water (22%) within 3 km, water (36%), grassland (26%) and trees (24%) within 16 km, and water (70%) within 80 km.

3 km

165 m

artificial surfaces 37%

16 km

192 m

water 36%

80 km

223 m

water 70%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Octeville 2.0 km · Équeurdreville-Hainneville 3.0 km · Tourlaville 4.0 km · Saint Helier 61 km · Saint Peter Port 69 km · Saint-Lô 70 km · Bayeux 77 km · Caen 104 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / E; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 77% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $48,986; 2025
Happiness: 6.6 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.3; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 5.1; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 539
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 Cherbourg (49.6398°, -1.6164°, elevation 6 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	12	9
2	12	9
3	12	10
4	12	10
5	13	10
6	13	10
7	13	10
8	13	10
9	13	10
10	13	10
11	13	10
12	13	10
13	13	10
14	13	10
15	13	10
16	13	10
17	14	11
18	14	11
19	14	11
20	14	11
21	14	11
22	14	11
23	14	11
24	14	11
25	14	11
26	14	11
27	14	11
28	15	12
29	15	12
30	15	12
31	15	12

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	94	6
24	93	7
25	93	7
26	92	8
27	91	9
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	89	11
31	88	12

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	94	6
24	93	7
25	93	7
26	92	8
27	91	9
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	89	11
31	88	12

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	94	6
24	93	7
25	93	7
26	92	8
27	91	9
28	90	10
29	90	10
30	89	11
31	88	12