Queenstown weather in May

In May, Queenstown sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 125 mm of precipitation across 14.3 wet days and about 9.4 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 9°C in the first days to 4°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 hours at the start of May to 8 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Queenstown's 9th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Queenstown's year-round climate.

Daytime high
8th warmest
Overnight low
6th coldest
Precipitation
125 mm
14.3 wet days
Daylight
9 h 24 min
9:01 AM – 6:22 PM
Cloud cover
78%
9th clearest
Wind
5 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
1.53 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.7
out of 10

Queenstown is resort town in Otago Region, New Zealand.

Founded
1863

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 9°C in the first days to 4°C by the end.

A typical May day in Queenstown reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 1°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°C and 10°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C cooler than April and about 4°C warmer than June.

-10°-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
192
292
392
492
592
682
782
882
982
1082
1181
1271
1371
1471
1571
1671
1761
1860
1960
2060
2160
2250
2350
2450
255-1
265-1
275-1
284-1
294-1
304-1
314-1

How May really feels in Queenstown

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 22 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
22
wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Queenstown weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan16° / 12712.30.5154.6
Feb16° / 9210.30.313.94.8
Mar14° / 10811.80.512.43.8
Apr11° / 10111.31.810.82.4
May / 12514.35.29.40.7
Jun / -3°9812.67.98.60.0
Jul / -4°9011.28.98.90.0
Aug / -2°8911.38.410.10.0
Sep / -1°12513.78.111.70.2
Oct / 13315.36.413.31.3
Nov11° / 13114.63.914.72.5
Dec14° / 13514.9115.43.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 80%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13169
23070
32971
42872
52872
62773
72674
82575
92575
102476
112476
122278
132179
142080
151981
161882
171882
181684
191684
201684
211684
221585
231486
241486
251486
261486
271387
281387
291387
301387
311387

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Queenstown gets around 125 mm of rain and snow over 14.3 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 45% and peaks near 47% on the wettest days, and about 5 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1409
2419
3429
44210
54310
64310
74411
84412
94512
104513
114614
124615
134615
144716
154717
164717
174718
184719
194720
204720
214721
224721
234722
244722
254722
264722
274723
284723
294623
304623
314623

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in May

Winds average 5 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 hours at the start of May to 8 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 8:43 AM to 9:17 AM, and sunset from 6:43 PM to 6:09 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.08:436:43
210.08:446:41
39.98:456:39
49.98:466:38
59.88:486:37
69.88:496:35
79.78:506:34
89.78:516:32
99.68:536:31
109.68:546:30
119.68:556:28
129.58:566:27
139.58:576:26
149.48:596:25
159.49:006:23
169.49:016:22
179.39:026:21
189.39:036:20
199.29:046:19
209.29:056:18
219.29:076:17
229.19:086:16
239.19:096:15
249.19:106:14
259.09:116:13
269.09:126:12
279.09:136:12
289.09:146:11
298.99:156:10
308.99:166:09
318.99:176:09

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 1.53 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.18 kWh/m² to a high of 6.48 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 1.53 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.522.5151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.0Dim
21.9Dim
31.9Dim
41.9Dim
51.8Dim
61.8Dim
71.8Dim
81.7Dim
91.7Dim
101.7Dim
111.6Dim
121.6Dim
131.6Dim
141.6Dim
151.5Dim
161.5Dim
171.5Dim
181.5Dim
191.4Dim
201.4Dim
211.4Dim
221.4Dim
231.4Dim
241.3Dim
251.3Dim
261.3Dim
271.3Dim
281.3Dim
291.3Dim
301.3Dim
311.3Dim
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Queenstown?

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

0.7
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Queenstown.

What to pack for Queenstown in May

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

In May, Queenstown sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in Queenstown 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 Queenstown peaks around January 14 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 14UV 11Jun 16UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb9Very high
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul2Low
Aug2Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct6High
Nov8Very high
Dec10Very high
Location & terrain

Where is Queenstown?

Queenstown sits at 45.0°S, 168.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Wanaka, 53 km away.

InvercargillDunedinTekapoTimaruFranz JosefAshburtonRolleston

Topography around Queenstown

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Queenstown has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,008 m around an average of 513 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,956 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,884 m.

The land around Queenstown is covered by trees (42%) and water (32%) within 3 km, grassland (55%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (64%) and trees (25%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,008 m
16 km
1,956 m
80 km
2,884 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater
May weather nearby: Wanaka 53 km · Invercargill 154 km · Dunedin 172 km · Tekapo 184 km · Timaru 216 km · Franz Josef 219 km · Ashburton 274 km · Rolleston 337 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
no religion 49%Christian 37%objected to answering 7%Hindu 3%

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 Queenstown (-45.0302°, 168.6627°, elevation 0 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).