Erfurt weather in May

In May, Erfurt sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 63 mm of rain across 11 wet days and about 15.3 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-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 19% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 15 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Erfurt's 6th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Erfurt's year-round climate.

Daytime high
18°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Rainfall
63 mm
11 wet days
Daylight
15 h 18 min
4:33 AM – 7:51 PM
Cloud cover
67%
6th clearest
Wind
11 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
5.08 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.4
out of 10

Erfurt is city in Erfurt, Germany.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 9.5 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 Erfurt reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 24°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°20°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1166
2166
3166
4167
5167
6167
7177
8177
9177
10177
11177
12177
13178
14178
15178
16178
17188
18188
19188
20188
21189
22189
23189
24199
25199
26199
27199
28199
291910
301910
312010

How May really feels in Erfurt

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.

Erfurt weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°43114.58.20.0
Feb / -1°359.14.39.70.0
Mar / 4711.52.711.51.4
Apr13° / 419.40.413.53.7
May18° / 6311015.35.4
Jun21° / 11°5811.3016.26.1
Jul23° / 13°7011.8015.86.5
Aug23° / 13°6010.6014.36.7
Sep18° / 10°529.4012.45.8
Oct13° / 4610.40.110.43.5
Nov / 4910.41.88.70.9
Dec / -1°4911.63.87.80.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 66%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13565
23565
33565
43565
53565
63565
73664
83664
93565
103565
113565
123466
133466
143367
153466
163466
173466
183367
193367
203268
213367
223367
233367
243367
253466
263466
273565
283565
293565
303664
313664

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Erfurt gets around 63 mm of rain over 11 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 36% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
135
235
335
435
535
635
734
834
934
1034
1134
1234
1335
1435
1535
1635
1736
1836
1936
2036
2136
2237
2337
2437
2538
2638
2738
2838
2939
3039
3139

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 93% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
19910
29910
39910
49910
59820
69820
79820
89820
99820
109820
119730
129730
139730
149730
159640
169640
179550
189550
199460
209460
219271
229181
239091
2489101
2588111
2687121
2785132
2884142
2983152
3081163
3180173

Wind in May

Winds average 11 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2510calm
2610calm
2710calm
2810calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 15 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:59 AM to 4:16 AM, and sunset from 7:28 PM to 8:11 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.54:597:28
214.54:577:29
314.64:557:31
414.74:537:32
514.74:517:34
614.84:497:36
714.84:487:37
814.94:467:39
914.94:447:40
1015.04:437:42
1115.04:417:43
1215.14:397:45
1315.14:387:46
1415.24:367:48
1515.24:357:50
1615.34:337:51
1715.34:327:52
1815.44:307:54
1915.44:297:55
2015.54:287:57
2115.54:267:58
2215.64:258:00
2315.64:248:01
2415.74:238:02
2515.74:228:04
2615.74:208:05
2715.84:198:06
2815.84:188:07
2915.94:178:09
3015.94:168:10
3115.94:168:11

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.08 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.64 kWh/m² to a high of 5.38 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.08 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.8Bright
24.8Bright
34.8Bright
44.9Bright
54.9Bright
64.9Bright
74.9Bright
85.0Bright
95.0Bright
105.0Bright
115.0Bright
125.0Bright
135.1Bright
145.1Bright
155.1Bright
165.1Bright
175.1Bright
185.1Bright
195.2Bright
205.2Bright
215.2Bright
225.2Bright
235.2Bright
245.2Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.2Bright
285.3Bright
295.3Bright
305.3Bright
315.3Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Erfurt?

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 Erfurt for sightseeing.

What to pack for Erfurt in May

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

In May, Erfurt sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Erfurt 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 Erfurt peaks around July 13 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 7Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Erfurt?

Erfurt sits at 51.0°N, 11.0°E, 194 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Arnstadt, 16 km away.

Topography around Erfurt

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Erfurt has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 159 m around an average of 217 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 364 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 962 m.

The land around Erfurt is covered by artificial surfaces (45%) and trees (36%) within 3 km, cropland (61%) within 16 km, and trees (41%) and cropland (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
159 m
16 km
364 m
80 km
962 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Arnstadt 16 km · Weimar 21 km · Sömmerda 21 km · Gotha 24 km · Bad Langensalza 31 km · Ilmenau 34 km · Apolda 34 km · Rudolstadt 36 km

Germany travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 80% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,496
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 615
Religion
none 44%Roman Catholic 25%Protestant 23%other 5%

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 Erfurt (50.9773°, 11.0354°, elevation 194 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).