Garmisch-Partenkirchen weather in May

In May, Garmisch-Partenkirchen sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 187 mm of precipitation across 20.8 wet days and about 14.9 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 16°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 12 min at the start of May to 15 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Garmisch-Partenkirchen's 12th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Garmisch-Partenkirchen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
15°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
187 mm
20.8 wet days
Daylight
14 h 54 min
4:45 AM – 7:39 PM
Cloud cover
68%
12th clearest
Wind
5 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
5.07 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.3
out of 10
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 4 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 13°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical May day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 5°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1133
2133
3133
4133
5133
6144
7144
8144
9144
10144
11144
12144
13144
14144
15145
16145
17155
18155
19155
20155
21155
22155
23156
24156
25166
26166
27166
28166
29166
30167
31167

How May really feels in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 / -8°8712.611.78.70.0
Feb / -7°8111.911.69.90.0
Mar / -3°11015.411.811.60.4
Apr10° / 11715.68.713.31.9
May15° / 18720.82.914.93.3
Jun18° / 20220.30.415.74.3
Jul20° / 10°20219.50.115.44.9
Aug19° / 10°20318.70.214.15.0
Sep15° / 14215.3112.44.1
Oct11° / 10913.14.310.62.7
Nov / -2°9912.48.99.10.5
Dec / -7°9413.511.88.30.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 66%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13367
23367
33268
43268
53268
63268
73169
83169
93169
103268
113268
123268
133367
143466
153367
163466
173466
183565
193565
203664
213664
223664
233763
243763
253763
263763
273763
283763
293763
303763
313565

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Garmisch-Partenkirchen gets around 187 mm of rain and snow over 20.8 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 66% and peaks near 68% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%80%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
16214
26314
36413
46513
56612
66712
76712
86711
96811
106811
116810
126810
136810
14679
15679
16679
17679
18679
19679
20679
21668
22668
23668
24668
25667
26667
27667
28676
29676
30675
31685

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 5 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 12 min at the start of May to 15 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:07 AM to 4:30 AM, and sunset from 7:18 PM to 7:56 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.25:077:18
214.25:067:20
314.35:047:21
414.35:027:23
514.45:017:24
614.44:597:25
714.54:587:27
814.54:567:28
914.64:557:29
1014.64:537:31
1114.74:527:32
1214.74:507:33
1314.84:497:35
1414.84:487:36
1514.94:467:37
1614.94:457:39
1714.94:447:40
1815.04:437:41
1915.04:417:42
2015.14:407:44
2115.14:397:45
2215.14:387:46
2315.24:377:47
2415.24:367:48
2515.24:357:50
2615.34:347:51
2715.34:337:52
2815.34:327:53
2915.44:327:54
3015.44:317:55
3115.44:307:56

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.07 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.16 kWh/m² to a high of 5.2 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.07 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.0Bright
25.0Bright
35.0Bright
45.0Bright
55.0Bright
65.0Bright
75.0Bright
85.0Bright
95.0Bright
105.0Bright
115.0Bright
125.0Bright
135.0Bright
145.0Bright
155.0Bright
165.0Bright
175.1Bright
185.1Bright
195.1Bright
205.1Bright
215.1Bright
225.1Bright
235.1Bright
245.1Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.2Bright
285.2Bright
295.2Bright
305.2Bright
315.2Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen?

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

3.3
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.1
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

What to pack for Garmisch-Partenkirchen in May

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

In May, Garmisch-Partenkirchen sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 5°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer and sun protection. About 21 days see rain.

rain geara warm layersun protection

UV index in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen peaks around July 12 at about 8 (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 12UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Garmisch-Partenkirchen?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen sits at 47.5°N, 11.1°E, 705 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Telfs, 21 km away.

Topography around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Garmisch-Partenkirchen has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 898 m around an average of 855 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,307 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,249 m.

The land around Garmisch-Partenkirchen is covered by trees (64%) within 3 km, trees (72%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
898 m
16 km
2,307 m
80 km
3,249 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
May weather nearby: Telfs 21 km · Fussen 31 km · Hötting 32 km · Innsbruck 34 km · Wilten 34 km · Pradl 35 km · Penzberg 36 km · Igls 37 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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen (47.4921°, 11.0958°, elevation 705 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).