Gap weather in May

In May, Gap sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 90 mm of precipitation across 11.7 wet days and about 14.6 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 hours at the start of May to 15 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Gap's 12th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Gap's year-round climate.

Daytime high
17°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
90 mm
11.7 wet days
Daylight
14 h 36 min
5:14 AM – 7:50 PM
Cloud cover
58%
12th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
6.1 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.4
out of 10
Air quality
Moderate
PM2.5 10.6 µg/m³ · 2019

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 16°C in the first days to 19°C by the end.

A typical May day in Gap reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1154
2164
3165
4165
5165
6165
7165
8165
9175
10175
11176
12176
13176
14176
15176
16176
17186
18186
19186
20187
21187
22187
23187
24197
25197
26197
27197
28198
29198
30198
31198

How May really feels in Gap

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.

Gap weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -5°799.36.590.0
Feb / -4°577.65.410.10.6
Mar10° / -1°708.8311.62.6
Apr13° / 8611.22.113.23.7
May17° / 9011.70.214.65.4
Jun21° / 10°638.8015.36.9
Jul24° / 12°396.60158.0
Aug24° / 11°445.8013.98.0
Sep20° / 697.4012.36.9
Oct15° / 1009.10.410.74.8
Nov / -0°11910.82.99.42.0
Dec / -3°909.75.48.70.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14555
24555
34555
44555
54456
64456
74456
84456
94555
104555
114654
124555
134654
144654
154852
164852
174951
184951
195149
205248
215248
225347
235446
245446
255446
265446
275446
285446
295446
305446
315446

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Gap gets around 90 mm of rain and snow over 11.7 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 44% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1442
2442
3442
4441
5441
6431
7431
8421
9421
10411
11411
12401
13391
14391
15381
16371
17371
18361
19350
20350
21340
22340
23330
24330
25330
26330
27330
28330
29340
30340
31350

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
31000
41000
51000
61000
71000
81000
91000
101000
111000
121000
131000
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
221000
231000
241000
251000
261000
271000
281000
29991
30991
31991

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 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:34 AM to 5:01 AM, and sunset from 7:32 PM to 8:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.05:347:32
214.05:327:33
314.15:317:34
414.15:297:36
514.15:287:37
614.25:277:38
714.25:257:39
814.35:247:40
914.35:237:42
1014.45:217:43
1114.45:207:44
1214.45:197:45
1314.55:177:46
1414.55:167:48
1514.65:157:49
1614.65:147:50
1714.65:137:51
1814.75:127:52
1914.75:117:53
2014.75:107:54
2114.85:097:55
2214.85:087:57
2314.85:077:58
2414.95:067:59
2514.95:058:00
2614.95:048:01
2715.05:048:02
2815.05:038:03
2915.05:028:04
3015.15:018:04
3115.15:018:05

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.1 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.5 kWh/m² to a high of 6.95 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 6.1 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.6Bright
25.6Bright
35.7Bright
45.7Bright
55.7Bright
65.7Bright
75.8Bright
85.8Bright
95.8Bright
105.9Bright
115.9Bright
126.0Bright
136.0Bright
146.0Intense
156.1Intense
166.1Intense
176.2Intense
186.2Intense
196.2Intense
206.3Intense
216.3Intense
226.3Intense
236.3Intense
246.4Intense
256.4Intense
266.4Intense
276.4Intense
286.4Intense
296.4Intense
306.4Intense
316.4Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Gap?

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

5.4
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
1.6
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Gap for sightseeing.

What to pack for Gap in May

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

In May, Gap sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 6°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

UV index in Gap 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 Gap peaks around July 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May7High
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Gap?

Gap sits at 44.6°N, 6.1°E, 741 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Digne-les-Bains, 53 km away.

Topography around Gap

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gap has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 450 m around an average of 843 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,079 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,777 m.

The land around Gap is covered by trees (47%), grassland (25%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, trees (55%) and grassland (34%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) and grassland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
450 m
16 km
2,079 m
80 km
3,777 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainmoss and lichen
May weather nearby: Digne-les-Bains 53 km · Échirolles 71 km · Saint-Martin-d'Hères 73 km · Grenoble 75 km · Meylan 76 km · Fontaine 77 km · Saint-Égrève 81 km · Manosque 84 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
Roman Catholic 47%none 33%Muslim 4%Protestant 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 Gap (44.5586°, 6.0787°, elevation 741 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).