Waterford weather in May

In May, Waterford sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 61 mm of rain across 10.9 wet days and about 15.4 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 14°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 36 min at the start of May to 16 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Waterford's 2nd-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Waterford's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 13°; 6th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 61 mm; 10.9 wet days
Daylight: 15 h 30 min; 4:41 AM – 8:09 PM
Cloud cover: 71%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 18 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 5.14 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.5; out of 10

Waterford is city in Ireland.

Air quality: Moderate; PM2.5 10.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density: 1,445/km²; people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Waterford year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 14°C by the end.

A typical May day in Waterford reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C warmer than April and about 2°C cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	12	8
2	12	8
3	12	8
4	12	8
5	12	8
6	12	8
7	12	8
8	12	8
9	12	8
10	13	8
11	13	8
12	13	9
13	13	9
14	13	9
15	13	9
16	13	9
17	13	9
18	13	9
19	13	9
20	13	9
21	14	9
22	14	10
23	14	10
24	14	10
25	14	10
26	14	10
27	14	10
28	14	10
29	14	10
30	14	10
31	14	10

Waterford weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 6th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	8° / 5°	90	13.9	8	1.4
Feb	8° / 5°	67	11.5	9.5	1.4
Mar	9° / 6°	65	11.1	11.5	1.8
Apr	11° / 7°	66	11.4	13.6	2.5
May	13° / 9°	61	10.9	15.4	3.5
Jun	15° / 12°	67	10.3	16.4	4.5
Jul	17° / 13°	66	11.4	16	5.1
Aug	17° / 13°	75	10.9	14.5	5.2
Sep	16° / 12°	70	11.1	12.4	4.6
Oct	13° / 10°	105	13.8	10.3	3.4
Nov	11° / 7°	106	14.3	8.5	2.3
Dec	9° / 6°	96	13.7	7.6	1.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 68%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	31	32	33	33	33	34	34
Cloudier (%)	69	69	69	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	69	69	69	69	70	70	70	70	70	70	69	69	69	69	68	67	67	67	66	66

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	31	69
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	32	68
12	31	69
13	31	69
14	31	69
15	31	69
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	30	70
21	30	70
22	31	69
23	31	69
24	31	69
25	31	69
26	32	68
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	34	66
31	34	66

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Waterford gets around 61 mm of rain over 10.9 wet days in May, the driest month. 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 37% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	37	36	36	35	35	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	36

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	36
3	36
4	35
5	35
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	36
14	36
15	37
16	37
17	37
18	37
19	37
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	37
25	37
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

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.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	97
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	97	3

Wind in May

Winds average 18 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 19 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	17
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	19	light breeze
2	19	light breeze
3	19	light breeze
4	19	light breeze
5	19	light breeze
6	19	light breeze
7	19	light breeze
8	19	light breeze
9	19	light breeze
10	19	light breeze
11	18	light breeze
12	18	light breeze
13	18	light breeze
14	18	light breeze
15	18	light breeze
16	18	light breeze
17	18	light breeze
18	18	light breeze
19	18	light breeze
20	18	light breeze
21	18	light breeze
22	18	light breeze
23	18	light breeze
24	18	light breeze
25	18	light breeze
26	18	light breeze
27	17	light breeze
28	17	light breeze
29	17	light breeze
30	17	light breeze
31	17	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 36 min at the start of May to 16 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:08 AM to 4:22 AM, and sunset from 7:44 PM to 8:30 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.1	15.1	15.2	15.2	15.3	15.4	15.4	15.5	15.5	15.6	15.6	15.7	15.7	15.8	15.8	15.8	15.9	15.9	16.0	16.0	16.1	16.1	16.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:08	5:06	5:04	5:02	5:00	4:58	4:56	4:54	4:52	4:51	4:49	4:47	4:46	4:44	4:42	4:41	4:39	4:38	4:36	4:35	4:34	4:32	4:31	4:30	4:28	4:27	4:26	4:25	4:24	4:23	4:22
Sunset (PM)	7:44	7:45	7:47	7:49	7:51	7:52	7:54	7:56	7:57	7:59	8:01	8:02	8:04	8:05	8:07	8:09	8:10	8:12	8:13	8:15	8:16	8:18	8:19	8:20	8:22	8:23	8:25	8:26	8:27	8:28	8:30

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.6	5:08	7:44
2	14.7	5:06	7:45
3	14.7	5:04	7:47
4	14.8	5:02	7:49
5	14.8	5:00	7:51
6	14.9	4:58	7:52
7	15.0	4:56	7:54
8	15.0	4:54	7:56
9	15.1	4:52	7:57
10	15.1	4:51	7:59
11	15.2	4:49	8:01
12	15.2	4:47	8:02
13	15.3	4:46	8:04
14	15.4	4:44	8:05
15	15.4	4:42	8:07
16	15.5	4:41	8:09
17	15.5	4:39	8:10
18	15.6	4:38	8:12
19	15.6	4:36	8:13
20	15.7	4:35	8:15
21	15.7	4:34	8:16
22	15.8	4:32	8:18
23	15.8	4:31	8:19
24	15.8	4:30	8:20
25	15.9	4:28	8:22
26	15.9	4:27	8:23
27	16.0	4:26	8:25
28	16.0	4:25	8:26
29	16.1	4:24	8:27
30	16.1	4:23	8:28
31	16.1	4:22	8:30

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.14 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.61 kWh/m² to a high of 5.34 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.14 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.8	Bright
2	4.8	Bright
3	4.8	Bright
4	4.8	Bright
5	4.9	Bright
6	4.9	Bright
7	4.9	Bright
8	5.0	Bright
9	5.0	Bright
10	5.0	Bright
11	5.0	Bright
12	5.0	Bright
13	5.1	Bright
14	5.1	Bright
15	5.1	Bright
16	5.1	Bright
17	5.1	Bright
18	5.1	Bright
19	5.2	Bright
20	5.2	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.2	Bright
23	5.2	Bright
24	5.3	Bright
25	5.3	Bright
26	5.3	Bright
27	5.3	Bright
28	5.3	Bright
29	5.3	Bright
30	5.4	Bright
31	5.4	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Waterford?

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

3.5

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Waterford.

What to pack for Waterford in May

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

In May, Waterford sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Waterford in May

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 15 km away) is warmest in August at about 16°C and coldest in February near 9°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	9	9	9	10	11	14	15	16	15	14	12	11
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	9	Bracing
Feb	9	Bracing
Mar	9	Bracing
Apr	10	Bracing
May	11	Bracing
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	15	Cool
Aug	16	Cool
Sep	15	Cool
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	12	Bracing
Dec	11	Bracing

UV index in Waterford in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Waterford peaks around August 13 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. 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 6 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	1	3	4	5	6	5	6	4	2	1	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	1	Low
Mar	3	Moderate
Apr	4	Moderate
May	5	High
Jun	6	High
Jul	5	High
Aug	6	High
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	2	Moderate
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Waterford?

Waterford sits at 52.3°N, 7.1°W, 10 m above sea level, in Ireland. The nearest listed city is Cluain Meala, 42 km away.

Topography around Waterford

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Waterford has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 93 m around an average of 30 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 298 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 906 m.

The land around Waterford is covered by grassland (41%), artificial surfaces (24%) and trees (22%) within 3 km, grassland (63%) within 16 km, and grassland (52%) and water (32%) within 80 km.

3 km

93 m

grassland 41%

16 km

298 m

grassland 63%

80 km

906 m

grassland 52%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← April Waterford year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Cluain Meala 42 km · Kilkenny 45 km · Wexford 45 km · Carlow 66 km · Portlaoise 87 km · Douglas 100 km · Carrigaline 101 km · Cork 101 km

Ireland travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type G; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 85% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $131,592; 2025
Happiness: 6.9 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 96%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 0.7; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 3.1; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

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 Waterford (52.2583°, -7.1119°, elevation 10 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	12	8
2	12	8
3	12	8
4	12	8
5	12	8
6	12	8
7	12	8
8	12	8
9	12	8
10	13	8
11	13	8
12	13	9
13	13	9
14	13	9
15	13	9
16	13	9
17	13	9
18	13	9
19	13	9
20	13	9
21	14	9
22	14	10
23	14	10
24	14	10
25	14	10
26	14	10
27	14	10
28	14	10
29	14	10
30	14	10
31	14	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	31	69
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	32	68
12	31	69
13	31	69
14	31	69
15	31	69
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	30	70
21	30	70
22	31	69
23	31	69
24	31	69
25	31	69
26	32	68
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	34	66
31	34	66

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	36
3	36
4	35
5	35
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	36
14	36
15	37
16	37
17	37
18	37
19	37
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	37
25	37
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	97	3

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	12	8
2	12	8
3	12	8
4	12	8
5	12	8
6	12	8
7	12	8
8	12	8
9	12	8
10	13	8
11	13	8
12	13	9
13	13	9
14	13	9
15	13	9
16	13	9
17	13	9
18	13	9
19	13	9
20	13	9
21	14	9
22	14	10
23	14	10
24	14	10
25	14	10
26	14	10
27	14	10
28	14	10
29	14	10
30	14	10
31	14	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	31	69
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	32	68
12	31	69
13	31	69
14	31	69
15	31	69
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	30	70
21	30	70
22	31	69
23	31	69
24	31	69
25	31	69
26	32	68
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	34	66
31	34	66

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	36
3	36
4	35
5	35
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	36
14	36
15	37
16	37
17	37
18	37
19	37
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	37
25	37
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	97	3

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	12	8
2	12	8
3	12	8
4	12	8
5	12	8
6	12	8
7	12	8
8	12	8
9	12	8
10	13	8
11	13	8
12	13	9
13	13	9
14	13	9
15	13	9
16	13	9
17	13	9
18	13	9
19	13	9
20	13	9
21	14	9
22	14	10
23	14	10
24	14	10
25	14	10
26	14	10
27	14	10
28	14	10
29	14	10
30	14	10
31	14	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	31	69
2	31	69
3	31	69
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	32	68
12	31	69
13	31	69
14	31	69
15	31	69
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	30	70
19	30	70
20	30	70
21	30	70
22	31	69
23	31	69
24	31	69
25	31	69
26	32	68
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	34	66
31	34	66

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	36
3	36
4	35
5	35
6	34
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	36
14	36
15	37
16	37
17	37
18	37
19	37
20	37
21	37
22	37
23	37
24	37
25	37
26	37
27	37
28	37
29	37
30	37
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	97	3