Palmerston North weather in May

In May, Palmerston North sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 79 mm of rain across 11.8 wet days and about 9.8 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 14°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% 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 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Palmerston North's 3rd-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Palmerston North's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 79 mm; 11.8 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 48 min; 8:21 AM – 6:07 PM
Cloud cover: 61%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 2.06 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.5; out of 10

Palmerston North is city on the North Island in New Zealand.

Density: 278/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1877

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

← April Palmerston North 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 14°C by the end.

A typical May day in Palmerston North reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 18°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)	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7

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

Palmerston North weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	21° / 14°	70	10.4	14.5	6.4
Feb	22° / 14°	64	8.2	13.6	6.8
Mar	20° / 12°	62	9.6	12.3	6.4
Apr	18° / 10°	82	10.5	11	5.7
May	15° / 8°	79	11.8	9.8	4.5
Jun	13° / 6°	90	13.3	9.2	3.4
Jul	12° / 6°	89	13.4	9.4	3.1
Aug	13° / 6°	89	13.9	10.4	3.3
Sep	14° / 7°	94	14.4	11.7	3.8
Oct	16° / 9°	110	15	13.1	4.3
Nov	18° / 10°	87	13.6	14.2	5.1
Dec	20° / 12°	98	13.5	14.8	5.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 23% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 53%.

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

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

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Palmerston North gets around 79 mm of rain over 11.8 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 38% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	34	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	35	36	36	36	37	38	39	39	40	41	41	42	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	41	41	41	41

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	37
14	38
15	39
16	39
17	40
18	41
19	41
20	42
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

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.

	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 (%)	86	86	87	87	88	88	89	90	90	91	92	92	93	93	93	94	94	94	95	95	95	95	96	96	96	96	96	96	97	97	97
Comfortable (%)	14	14	13	13	12	12	11	10	10	9	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	87	13
5	88	12
6	88	12
7	89	11
8	90	10
9	90	10
10	91	9
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	93	7
14	93	7
15	93	7
16	94	6
17	94	6
18	94	6
19	95	5
20	95	5
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	96	4
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	96	4
29	97	3
30	97	3
31	97	3

Wind in May

Winds average 14 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 14 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)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
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	13	light breeze
2	13	light breeze
3	13	light breeze
4	13	light breeze
5	13	light breeze
6	13	light breeze
7	13	light breeze
8	13	light breeze
9	14	light breeze
10	14	light breeze
11	14	light breeze
12	14	light breeze
13	14	light breeze
14	14	light breeze
15	14	light breeze
16	14	light breeze
17	14	light breeze
18	14	light breeze
19	14	light breeze
20	14	light breeze
21	14	light breeze
22	14	light breeze
23	14	light breeze
24	14	light breeze
25	14	light breeze
26	14	light breeze
27	14	light breeze
28	14	light breeze
29	14	light breeze
30	14	light breeze
31	14	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 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 54 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 8:06 AM to 8:34 AM, and sunset from 6:24 PM to 5:56 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	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	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	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.4
Sunrise (AM)	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	8:21	8:22	8:23	8:24	8:25	8:25	8:26	8:27	8:28	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:32	8:33	8:34
Sunset (PM)	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:16	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	6:02	6:01	6:00	5:59	5:59	5:58	5:58	5:57	5:56	5:56

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.3	8:06	6:24
2	10.3	8:07	6:23
3	10.2	8:08	6:21
4	10.2	8:09	6:20
5	10.2	8:10	6:19
6	10.1	8:11	6:18
7	10.1	8:12	6:16
8	10.0	8:13	6:15
9	10.0	8:14	6:14
10	10.0	8:15	6:13
11	9.9	8:16	6:12
12	9.9	8:17	6:11
13	9.9	8:18	6:10
14	9.8	8:19	6:09
15	9.8	8:20	6:08
16	9.8	8:21	6:07
17	9.7	8:22	6:06
18	9.7	8:23	6:05
19	9.7	8:24	6:04
20	9.6	8:25	6:03
21	9.6	8:25	6:02
22	9.6	8:26	6:02
23	9.6	8:27	6:01
24	9.5	8:28	6:00
25	9.5	8:29	5:59
26	9.5	8:30	5:59
27	9.5	8:31	5:58
28	9.4	8:32	5:58
29	9.4	8:32	5:57
30	9.4	8:33	5:56
31	9.4	8:34	5:56

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 2.06 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.58 kWh/m² to a high of 6.82 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 2.06 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)	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.4	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	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7
Level	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	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.5	Moderate
2	2.4	Moderate
3	2.4	Moderate
4	2.4	Moderate
5	2.3	Moderate
6	2.3	Moderate
7	2.3	Moderate
8	2.3	Moderate
9	2.2	Moderate
10	2.2	Moderate
11	2.2	Moderate
12	2.1	Moderate
13	2.1	Moderate
14	2.1	Moderate
15	2.1	Moderate
16	2.1	Moderate
17	2.0	Moderate
18	2.0	Moderate
19	2.0	Dim
20	2.0	Dim
21	1.9	Dim
22	1.9	Dim
23	1.9	Dim
24	1.9	Dim
25	1.9	Dim
26	1.8	Dim
27	1.8	Dim
28	1.8	Dim
29	1.8	Dim
30	1.8	Dim
31	1.7	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Palmerston North?

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

4.5

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.4

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Palmerston North for sightseeing.

What to pack for Palmerston North in May

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

In May, Palmerston North sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Palmerston North 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 41 km away) is warmest in February at about 19°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)	18	19	18	17	16	14	13	13	13	14	15	16
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool

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

UV index in Palmerston North 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 Palmerston North peaks around January 13 at about 11 (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 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	12	11	7	4	2	2	2	3	4	7	10	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	7	High
Apr	4	Moderate
May	2	Moderate
Jun	2	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	7	High
Nov	10	Extreme
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Palmerston North?

Palmerston North sits at 40.4°S, 175.6°E, 34 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Levin, 42 km away.

Topography around Palmerston North

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Palmerston North has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 54 m around an average of 32 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 611 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,719 m.

The land around Palmerston North is covered by artificial surfaces (54%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, grassland (71%) within 16 km, and grassland (58%) and trees (24%) within 80 km.

3 km

54 m

artificial surfaces 54%

16 km

611 m

grassland 71%

80 km

1,719 m

grassland 58%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

May weather nearby: Levin 42 km · Whanganui 67 km · Masterton 67 km · Paraparaumu 80 km · Upper Hutt 99 km · Porirua 108 km · Lower Hutt 112 km · Wainuiomata 116 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 Palmerston North (-40.3564°, 175.6111°, elevation 34 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	16	9
6	16	9
7	16	9
8	16	9
9	16	9
10	16	9
11	16	9
12	16	9
13	16	9
14	16	9
15	16	8
16	15	8
17	15	8
18	15	8
19	15	8
20	15	8
21	15	8
22	15	8
23	15	8
24	15	8
25	15	8
26	14	8
27	14	8
28	14	7
29	14	7
30	14	7
31	14	7

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	37
14	38
15	39
16	39
17	40
18	41
19	41
20	42
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	87	13
5	88	12
6	88	12
7	89	11
8	90	10
9	90	10
10	91	9
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	93	7
14	93	7
15	93	7
16	94	6
17	94	6
18	94	6
19	95	5
20	95	5
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	96	4
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	96	4
29	97	3
30	97	3
31	97	3

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	37
14	38
15	39
16	39
17	40
18	41
19	41
20	42
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	87	13
5	88	12
6	88	12
7	89	11
8	90	10
9	90	10
10	91	9
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	93	7
14	93	7
15	93	7
16	94	6
17	94	6
18	94	6
19	95	5
20	95	5
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	96	4
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	96	4
29	97	3
30	97	3
31	97	3

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	34
2	34
3	34
4	34
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	37
14	38
15	39
16	39
17	40
18	41
19	41
20	42
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	41
29	41
30	41
31	41

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	86	14
2	86	14
3	87	13
4	87	13
5	88	12
6	88	12
7	89	11
8	90	10
9	90	10
10	91	9
11	92	8
12	92	8
13	93	7
14	93	7
15	93	7
16	94	6
17	94	6
18	94	6
19	95	5
20	95	5
21	95	5
22	95	5
23	96	4
24	96	4
25	96	4
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	96	4
29	97	3
30	97	3
31	97	3