Saintes weather in May

In May, Saintes sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 67 mm of rain across 11.3 wet days and about 14.7 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 19°C in the first days to 22°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% 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 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Saintes's 7th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Saintes's year-round climate.

Daytime high
20°
5th warmest
Overnight low
11°
8th coldest
Rainfall
67 mm
11.3 wet days
Daylight
14 h 42 min
5:37 AM – 8:20 PM
Cloud cover
63%
7th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
5.71 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.1
out of 10

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 19°C in the first days to 22°C by the end.

A typical May day in Saintes reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1189
2199
3199
4199
51910
61910
71910
81910
91910
102010
112010
122010
132010
142010
152011
162011
172011
182111
192111
202111
212111
222111
232111
242112
252212
262212
272212
282212
292212
302212
312212

How May really feels in Saintes

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.

Saintes weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan10° / 7311.28.92.0
Feb11° / 549.410.12.6
Mar14° / 5610.411.64.2
Apr17° / 6411.113.35.2
May20° / 11°6711.314.76.1
Jun24° / 14°538.515.47.0
Jul26° / 15°416.915.17.2
Aug26° / 15°457.113.97.2
Sep23° / 13°54812.37.1
Oct19° / 10°7411.210.75.7
Nov13° / 8012.19.33.5
Dec10° / 8112.18.52.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23268
33169
43169
53169
63268
73367
83466
93565
103664
113664
123763
133763
143862
154060
164060
174159
184258
194258
204357
214357
224555
234555
244456
254456
264357
274357
284258
294258
304159
314159

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Saintes gets around 67 mm of rain over 11.3 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 37% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
140
240
340
440
540
640
740
840
939
1039
1139
1239
1339
1439
1538
1638
1737
1837
1936
2035
2135
2234
2334
2434
2533
2633
2733
2833
2933
3033
3133

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 80% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
19190
289101
389101
488111
587121
686131
786131
886131
985141
1085141
1185141
1285141
1385141
1484142
1584142
1684142
1783152
1883152
1981163
2081163
2180173
2278184
2377194
2475205
2573225
2672235
2769256
2868266
2966277
3065287
3163298

Wind in May

Winds average 12 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 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
612light breeze
712light breeze
812light breeze
912light breeze
1012light breeze
1112light breeze
1212light breeze
1312light breeze
1412light breeze
1512light breeze
1612light breeze
1712light breeze
1812light breeze
1912light breeze
2012light breeze
2112light breeze
2212light breeze
2312light breeze
2412light breeze
2512light breeze
2612light breeze
2712light breeze
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3112calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 12 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 5:58 AM to 5:23 AM, and sunset from 8:01 PM to 8:36 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.15:588:01
214.15:578:03
314.15:558:04
414.25:548:05
514.25:528:07
614.35:518:08
714.35:498:09
814.45:488:10
914.45:468:12
1014.55:458:13
1114.55:448:14
1214.65:428:15
1314.65:418:17
1414.65:408:18
1514.75:398:19
1614.75:378:20
1714.85:368:21
1814.85:358:23
1914.85:348:24
2014.95:338:25
2114.95:328:26
2214.95:318:27
2315.05:308:28
2415.05:298:29
2515.05:288:30
2615.15:278:31
2715.15:268:32
2815.15:268:33
2915.25:258:34
3015.25:248:35
3115.25:238:36

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.71 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.14 kWh/m² to a high of 6.19 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.71 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.2Bright
25.2Bright
35.2Bright
45.3Bright
55.3Bright
65.3Bright
75.3Bright
85.4Bright
95.4Bright
105.5Bright
115.5Bright
125.5Bright
135.6Bright
145.6Bright
155.7Bright
165.7Bright
175.7Bright
185.8Bright
195.8Bright
205.8Bright
215.9Bright
225.9Bright
235.9Bright
246.0Bright
256.0Bright
266.0Bright
276.0Intense
286.0Intense
296.0Intense
306.0Intense
316.0Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Saintes?

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

6.1
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
3.4
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Saintes for sightseeing.

What to pack for Saintes in May

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

In May, Saintes sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Saintes in May

The nearest coast averages about 15°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 40 km away) is warmest in August at about 21°C and coldest in February near 10°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 19 to Aug 31 — about 1.4 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan11Bracing
Feb10Bracing
Mar11Bracing
Apr13Bracing
May15Cool
Jun18Cool
Jul20Refreshing
Aug21Refreshing
Sep19Cool
Oct17Cool
Nov15Bracing
Dec12Bracing

UV index in Saintes 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 Saintes peaks around July 19 at about 8 (very 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 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highModerateLowJul 19UV 8Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May6High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Saintes?

Saintes sits at 45.7°N, 0.6°W, 26 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Cognac, 24 km away.

Topography around Saintes

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Saintes has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 68 m around an average of 26 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 109 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 242 m.

The land around Saintes is covered by trees (27%), artificial surfaces (27%) and grassland (26%) within 3 km, cropland (46%), trees (31%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and cropland (39%), trees (21%) and water (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
68 m
16 km
109 m
80 km
242 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
May weather nearby: Cognac 24 km · Royan 34 km · Rochefort 34 km · La Rochelle 61 km · Angoulême 62 km · Niort 65 km · Fontenay-le-Comte 81 km · Blanquefort 93 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 Saintes (45.7474°, -0.6349°, elevation 26 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).