Nelson weather in May

In May, Nelson sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 120 mm of rain across 10.7 wet days and about 9.7 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 15°C in the first days to 12°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 18 min at the start of May to 9 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Nelson's 2nd-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nelson's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 13°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 120 mm; 10.7 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 42 min; 8:32 AM – 6:14 PM
Cloud cover: 52%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 2.17 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.9; out of 10

Nelson is city on the South Island, New Zealand.

Density: 122/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1841

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

← April Nelson 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 15°C in the first days to 12°C by the end.

A typical May day in Nelson reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C cooler than April and about 2°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)	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7

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

Nelson weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	19° / 14°	102	9.8	14.6	6.3
Feb	20° / 14°	80	8.1	13.7	6.5
Mar	18° / 13°	93	8.8	12.3	6.2
Apr	16° / 11°	108	10.5	10.9	4.9
May	13° / 9°	120	10.7	9.7	3.9
Jun	11° / 7°	127	10.6	9.1	2.8
Jul	10° / 6°	110	9.4	9.3	2.5
Aug	11° / 6°	114	11.8	10.3	2.6
Sep	12° / 7°	117	12.2	11.7	3.2
Oct	14° / 9°	131	13	13.1	3.9
Nov	16° / 10°	109	11.6	14.3	4.7
Dec	18° / 13°	125	12.8	14.9	5.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 43%.

	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 (%)	55	55	55	55	55	56	56	56	56	56	56	57	57	57	56	57	57	57	57	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	58	57	58
Cloudier (%)	45	45	45	45	45	44	44	44	44	44	44	43	43	43	44	43	43	43	43	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	43	42

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

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Nelson gets around 120 mm of rain over 10.7 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.

	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 (%)	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	35	35	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	35	35	35	34	34	34

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

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 96% 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 (%)	91	92	92	92	93	93	93	94	94	94	95	95	96	96	96	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	9	8	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	91	9
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	96	4
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	97	3
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	97	3
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

Wind in May

Winds average 9 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 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)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
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	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 min at the start of May to 9 h 18 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 8:17 AM to 8:46 AM, and sunset from 6:32 PM to 6:02 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)	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3
Sunrise (AM)	8:17	8:18	8:19	8:20	8:21	8:22	8:23	8:24	8:25	8:26	8:27	8:28	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:40	8:41	8:42	8:43	8:44	8:44	8:45	8:46
Sunset (PM)	6:32	6:30	6:29	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:17	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:13	6:12	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:08	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:04	6:03	6:02

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.3	8:17	6:32
2	10.2	8:18	6:30
3	10.2	8:19	6:29
4	10.1	8:20	6:28
5	10.1	8:21	6:26
6	10.1	8:22	6:25
7	10.0	8:23	6:24
8	10.0	8:24	6:23
9	9.9	8:25	6:21
10	9.9	8:26	6:20
11	9.9	8:27	6:19
12	9.8	8:28	6:18
13	9.8	8:29	6:17
14	9.8	8:30	6:16
15	9.7	8:31	6:15
16	9.7	8:32	6:14
17	9.7	8:33	6:13
18	9.6	8:34	6:12
19	9.6	8:35	6:11
20	9.6	8:36	6:10
21	9.5	8:37	6:09
22	9.5	8:38	6:08
23	9.5	8:39	6:08
24	9.4	8:40	6:07
25	9.4	8:41	6:06
26	9.4	8:42	6:06
27	9.4	8:43	6:05
28	9.3	8:44	6:04
29	9.3	8:44	6:04
30	9.3	8:45	6:03
31	9.3	8:46	6:02

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 2.17 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 7.08 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 2.17 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)	2.6	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.6	Moderate
2	2.5	Moderate
3	2.5	Moderate
4	2.5	Moderate
5	2.5	Moderate
6	2.4	Moderate
7	2.4	Moderate
8	2.4	Moderate
9	2.3	Moderate
10	2.3	Moderate
11	2.3	Moderate
12	2.2	Moderate
13	2.2	Moderate
14	2.2	Moderate
15	2.2	Moderate
16	2.1	Moderate
17	2.1	Moderate
18	2.1	Moderate
19	2.1	Moderate
20	2.0	Moderate
21	2.0	Moderate
22	2.0	Dim
23	2.0	Dim
24	1.9	Dim
25	1.9	Dim
26	1.9	Dim
27	1.9	Dim
28	1.9	Dim
29	1.9	Dim
30	1.8	Dim
31	1.8	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Nelson?

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

3.9

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nelson.

What to pack for Nelson in May

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

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

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Nelson in May

The nearest coast averages about 15°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 18 km away) is warmest in February at about 20°C and coldest in August near 12°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	17	15	14	12	12	12	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	17	Cool
May	15	Cool
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	12	Bracing
Aug	12	Bracing
Sep	12	Bracing
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	16	Cool
Dec	17	Cool

UV index in Nelson 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 Nelson peaks around January 1 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	10	6	4	2	1	2	3	4	6	9	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Extreme
Mar	6	High
Apr	4	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Nelson?

Nelson sits at 41.3°S, 173.3°E, 11 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Stoke, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Nelson

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nelson has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 403 m around an average of 62 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,211 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,095 m.

The land around Nelson is covered by trees (42%) and water (32%) within 3 km, trees (46%) and water (38%) within 16 km, and trees (48%), water (28%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

403 m

trees 42%

16 km

1,211 m

trees 46%

80 km

2,095 m

trees 48%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Stoke 7.0 km · Richmond 11 km · Picton 61 km · Blenheim 62 km · Karori 122 km · Wellington 125 km · Kaikoura 132 km · Porirua 132 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 Nelson (-41.2708°, 173.284°, elevation 11 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	15	10
2	15	10
3	15	10
4	15	10
5	14	10
6	14	10
7	14	9
8	14	9
9	14	9
10	14	9
11	14	9
12	14	9
13	14	9
14	14	9
15	14	9
16	14	9
17	13	9
18	13	9
19	13	9
20	13	8
21	13	8
22	13	8
23	13	8
24	13	8
25	13	8
26	13	8
27	12	8
28	12	8
29	12	8
30	12	8
31	12	7

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	91	9
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	96	4
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	97	3
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	97	3
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	91	9
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	96	4
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	97	3
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	97	3
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	91	9
2	92	8
3	92	8
4	92	8
5	93	7
6	93	7
7	93	7
8	94	6
9	94	6
10	94	6
11	95	5
12	95	5
13	96	4
14	96	4
15	96	4
16	97	3
17	97	3
18	97	3
19	97	3
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1