Jena weather in May

In May, Jena sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 62 mm of rain across 10.6 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 17°C in the first days to 20°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 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 Jena's 6th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Jena's year-round climate.

Daytime high
18°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Rainfall
62 mm
10.6 wet days
Daylight
15 h 18 min
4:31 AM – 7:49 PM
Cloud cover
67%
6th clearest
Wind
11 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.1 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.6
out of 10
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 14.1 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 17°C in the first days to 20°C by the end.

A typical May day in Jena 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)
1167
2167
3177
4177
5177
6177
7177
8177
9177
10178
11178
12178
13188
14188
15188
16188
17188
18189
19189
20189
21199
22199
23199
24199
25199
261910
271910
281910
292010
302010
312010

How May really feels in Jena

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.

Jena 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 / -1°4411.24.78.20.0
Feb / -1°359.44.39.70.1
Mar / 4812.22.811.51.5
Apr14° / 409.40.313.53.9
May18° / 6210.6015.35.6
Jun21° / 12°5911.2016.26.2
Jul23° / 14°7111.6015.86.6
Aug23° / 13°6110.7014.36.7
Sep19° / 10°559.8012.45.8
Oct13° / 48100.110.43.6
Nov / 5010.41.78.71.0
Dec / -0°5011.53.97.80.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% 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 65%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33664
43664
53664
63664
73664
83763
93664
103664
113664
123664
133664
143664
153565
163664
173664
183565
193565
203466
213466
223466
233466
243466
253466
263466
273565
283565
293565
303565
313565

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Jena gets around 62 mm of rain over 10.6 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 35% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
133
234
334
435
535
635
735
835
935
1035
1135
1235
1335
1435
1535
1635
1735
1835
1935
2034
2134
2234
2334
2435
2535
2635
2735
2835
2936
3036
3136

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
49820
59820
69820
79820
89820
99820
109820
119730
129730
139730
149730
159640
169640
179550
189550
199460
209361
219271
229181
239091
2489101
2588102
2687112
2786122
2885132
2983143
3082153
3181163

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
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
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 4:57 AM to 4:14 AM, and sunset from 7:25 PM to 8:08 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.54:577:25
214.54:557:27
314.64:537:28
414.74:517:30
514.74:497:32
614.84:477:33
714.84:467:35
814.94:447:36
914.94:427:38
1015.04:417:39
1115.04:397:41
1215.14:377:43
1315.14:367:44
1415.24:347:46
1515.24:337:47
1615.34:317:49
1715.34:307:50
1815.44:287:52
1915.44:277:53
2015.54:267:54
2115.54:247:56
2215.64:237:57
2315.64:227:58
2415.74:218:00
2515.74:208:01
2615.74:188:02
2715.84:178:04
2815.84:168:05
2915.84:158:06
3015.94:148:07
3115.94:148:08

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.1 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.65 kWh/m² to a high of 5.37 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.1 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.8Bright
24.9Bright
34.9Bright
44.9Bright
54.9Bright
64.9Bright
75.0Bright
85.0Bright
95.0Bright
105.0Bright
115.0Bright
125.1Bright
135.1Bright
145.1Bright
155.1Bright
165.1Bright
175.1Bright
185.2Bright
195.2Bright
205.2Bright
215.2Bright
225.2Bright
235.2Bright
245.2Bright
255.2Bright
265.2Bright
275.3Bright
285.3Bright
295.3Bright
305.3Bright
315.3Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Jena?

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

5.6
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
1.9
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Jena for sightseeing.

What to pack for Jena in May

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

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

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Jena 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 Jena 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 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Jena?

Jena sits at 50.9°N, 11.6°E, 149 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Apolda, 12 km away.

Topography around Jena

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Jena has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 255 m around an average of 234 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 368 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 962 m.

The land around Jena is covered by trees (59%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, cropland (43%) and trees (36%) within 16 km, and cropland (45%) and trees (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
255 m
16 km
368 m
80 km
962 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Apolda 12 km · Weimar 19 km · Naumburg 29 km · Rudolstadt 29 km · Lusan 35 km · Gera 35 km · Saalfeld 35 km · Erfurt 39 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 Jena (50.9288°, 11.5899°, elevation 149 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).