Hastings weather in May

In May, Hastings sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 54 mm of rain across 8.5 wet days and about 9.8 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 15°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 24 min at the start of May to 9 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Hastings's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Hastings's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 16°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 54 mm; 8.5 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 48 min; 8:14 AM – 6:04 PM
Cloud cover: 53%; 1st clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 2.32 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.2; out of 10

Hastings is city in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Air quality: Good; PM10 15.3 µg/m³ · 2012
Density: 3,614/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1873

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

← April Hastings 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 ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 15°C by the end.

A typical May day in Hastings reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C cooler than April and about 3°C warmer 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)	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14
Avg low (°C)	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6

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

Hastings weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-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	24° / 14°	61	8.2	14.5	7.2
Feb	23° / 14°	55	7.6	13.6	7.1
Mar	21° / 12°	56	8.1	12.3	6.8
Apr	19° / 10°	69	8	11	6.2
May	16° / 8°	54	8.5	9.8	5.2
Jun	13° / 5°	71	9.2	9.3	3.9
Jul	13° / 5°	85	10.9	9.5	3.4
Aug	13° / 5°	65	10.8	10.4	3.8
Sep	15° / 6°	60	10.1	11.7	4.7
Oct	17° / 8°	65	10.3	13.1	5.6
Nov	19° / 10°	57	9.2	14.2	6.3
Dec	22° / 13°	63	10.1	14.8	6.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 45%.

	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 (%)	51	51	51	51	52	52	52	52	53	53	54	55	56	56	57	57	57	58	59	59	59	59	59	59	57	57	56	56	55	55	55
Cloudier (%)	49	49	49	49	48	48	48	48	47	47	46	45	44	44	43	43	43	42	41	41	41	41	41	41	43	43	44	44	45	45	45

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	55	45
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	56	44
28	56	44
29	55	45
30	55	45
31	55	45

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Hastings gets around 54 mm of rain over 8.5 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 27% and peaks near 30% 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 (%)	29	28	28	28	28	28	27	27	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	26	26	27	27	27	28	28	28	29	29	30	30	30	30

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

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 95% 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 (%)	89	89	90	90	91	91	92	92	93	93	94	94	95	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98
Comfortable (%)	11	11	10	10	9	9	8	8	7	7	6	6	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	90	10
4	90	10
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	92	8
8	92	8
9	93	7
10	93	7
11	94	6
12	94	6
13	95	5
14	95	5
15	95	5
16	95	5
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	96	4
22	96	4
23	97	3
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	98	2

Wind in May

Winds average 12 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 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)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 24 min at the start of May to 9 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 60 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 7:59 AM to 8:27 AM, and sunset from 6:20 PM to 5:53 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)	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4
Sunrise (AM)	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:03	8:04	8:05	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:10	8:11	8:12	8:13	8:14	8:15	8:16	8:17	8:18	8:19	8:20	8:20	8:21	8:22	8:23	8:24	8:25	8:25	8:26	8:27
Sunset (PM)	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:17	6:15	6:14	6:13	6:12	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:00	5:59	5:59	5:58	5:57	5:56	5:56	5:55	5:55	5:54	5:53	5:53

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.4	7:59	6:20
2	10.3	8:00	6:19
3	10.3	8:01	6:18
4	10.2	8:02	6:17
5	10.2	8:03	6:15
6	10.2	8:04	6:14
7	10.1	8:05	6:13
8	10.1	8:06	6:12
9	10.1	8:07	6:11
10	10.0	8:08	6:10
11	10.0	8:09	6:09
12	10.0	8:10	6:08
13	9.9	8:11	6:07
14	9.9	8:12	6:06
15	9.9	8:13	6:05
16	9.8	8:14	6:04
17	9.8	8:15	6:03
18	9.8	8:16	6:02
19	9.7	8:17	6:01
20	9.7	8:18	6:00
21	9.7	8:19	5:59
22	9.7	8:20	5:59
23	9.6	8:20	5:58
24	9.6	8:21	5:57
25	9.6	8:22	5:56
26	9.5	8:23	5:56
27	9.5	8:24	5:55
28	9.5	8:25	5:55
29	9.5	8:25	5:54
30	9.5	8:26	5:53
31	9.4	8:27	5:53

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 2.32 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.81 kWh/m² to a high of 7.02 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 2.32 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	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)	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.7	Moderate
2	2.7	Moderate
3	2.6	Moderate
4	2.6	Moderate
5	2.6	Moderate
6	2.5	Moderate
7	2.5	Moderate
8	2.5	Moderate
9	2.5	Moderate
10	2.5	Moderate
11	2.4	Moderate
12	2.4	Moderate
13	2.4	Moderate
14	2.4	Moderate
15	2.4	Moderate
16	2.3	Moderate
17	2.3	Moderate
18	2.3	Moderate
19	2.3	Moderate
20	2.3	Moderate
21	2.2	Moderate
22	2.2	Moderate
23	2.2	Moderate
24	2.1	Moderate
25	2.1	Moderate
26	2.1	Moderate
27	2.1	Moderate
28	2.1	Moderate
29	2.0	Moderate
30	2.0	Moderate
31	2.0	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Hastings?

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

5.2

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.7

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Hastings for sightseeing.

What to pack for Hastings in May

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

In May, Hastings sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Hastings in May

The nearest coast averages about 16°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 24 km away) is warmest in February at about 20°C and coldest in August near 13°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)	19	20	19	18	16	15	14	13	13	14	16	17
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	19	Cool
Feb	20	Cool
Mar	19	Cool
Apr	18	Cool
May	16	Cool
Jun	15	Bracing
Jul	14	Bracing
Aug	13	Bracing
Sep	13	Bracing
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	16	Cool
Dec	17	Cool

UV index in Hastings in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Hastings peaks around January 13 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	12	11	7	5	2	2	2	3	4	7	11	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	7	High
Apr	5	Moderate
May	2	Moderate
Jun	2	Low
Jul	2	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	7	High
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Hastings?

Hastings sits at 39.6°S, 176.8°E, 19 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Napier, 17 km away.

Topography around Hastings

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Hastings has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 19 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 480 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,719 m.

The land around Hastings is covered by artificial surfaces (38%) and grassland (37%) within 3 km, grassland (59%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%), water (32%) and trees (26%) within 80 km.

3 km

19 m

artificial surfaces 38%

16 km

480 m

grassland 59%

80 km

1,719 m

grassland 40%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

May weather nearby: Napier 17 km · Taupo 125 km · Palmerston North 132 km · Gisborne 148 km · Whanganui 157 km · Levin 174 km · Rotorua 175 km · Masterton 178 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type I; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 86% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $49,591; 2025
Happiness: 7.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.5; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 9.6; 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 Hastings (-39.6381°, 176.8492°, elevation 19 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	17	9
2	17	9
3	17	9
4	17	9
5	17	8
6	17	8
7	17	8
8	17	8
9	17	8
10	17	8
11	16	8
12	16	8
13	16	8
14	16	8
15	16	8
16	16	8
17	16	7
18	16	7
19	16	7
20	16	7
21	15	7
22	15	7
23	15	7
24	15	7
25	15	7
26	15	7
27	15	7
28	15	6
29	15	6
30	14	6
31	14	6

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	55	45
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	56	44
28	56	44
29	55	45
30	55	45
31	55	45

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	90	10
4	90	10
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	92	8
8	92	8
9	93	7
10	93	7
11	94	6
12	94	6
13	95	5
14	95	5
15	95	5
16	95	5
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	96	4
22	96	4
23	97	3
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	98	2

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	55	45
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	56	44
28	56	44
29	55	45
30	55	45
31	55	45

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	90	10
4	90	10
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	92	8
8	92	8
9	93	7
10	93	7
11	94	6
12	94	6
13	95	5
14	95	5
15	95	5
16	95	5
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	96	4
22	96	4
23	97	3
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	98	2

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	54	46
12	55	45
13	56	44
14	56	44
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	58	42
19	59	41
20	59	41
21	59	41
22	59	41
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	56	44
28	56	44
29	55	45
30	55	45
31	55	45

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	89	11
2	89	11
3	90	10
4	90	10
5	91	9
6	91	9
7	92	8
8	92	8
9	93	7
10	93	7
11	94	6
12	94	6
13	95	5
14	95	5
15	95	5
16	95	5
17	96	4
18	96	4
19	96	4
20	96	4
21	96	4
22	96	4
23	97	3
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	98	2
29	98	2
30	98	2
31	98	2