Rangiora weather in May

In May, Rangiora sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 59 mm of precipitation across 9 wet days and about 9.5 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 10th-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 38% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 06 min at the start of May to 9 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Rangiora's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rangiora's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 5th coldest
Precipitation: 59 mm; 9 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 30 min; 8:40 AM – 6:11 PM
Cloud cover: 54%; 1st clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 1.98 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.0; out of 10

Rangiora is largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, New Zealand..

Air quality: Good; PM10 17.2 µg/m³ · 2012
Density: 1,147/km²; people per km²

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

← April Rangiora 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 Rangiora reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 17°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)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

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

How May really feels in Rangiora

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

May sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Rangiora weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	20° / 11°	72	10.2	0	14.8	6.3
Feb	20° / 11°	58	8	0	13.8	6.6
Mar	19° / 10°	57	8.1	0	12.4	6.3
Apr	16° / 7°	66	9.8	0.1	10.8	5.2
May	14° / 5°	59	9	0.2	9.5	4.0
Jun	11° / 3°	73	10.3	0.9	8.9	2.6
Jul	10° / 2°	68	9.6	0.6	9.1	2.4
Aug	12° / 3°	67	10.8	0.9	10.2	2.9
Sep	14° / 5°	65	11.1	0.4	11.7	3.8
Oct	15° / 6°	81	12.9	0.2	13.2	4.4
Nov	17° / 8°	78	12	0	14.5	5.1
Dec	19° / 10°	75	11.3	0	15.2	5.8

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 48%.

	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 (%)	48	49	49	49	49	50	51	52	51	52	52	52	53	54	54	53	53	53	53	53	53	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54
Cloudier (%)	52	51	51	51	51	50	49	48	49	48	48	48	47	46	46	47	47	47	47	47	47	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	50	50
7	51	49
8	52	48
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	52	48
12	52	48
13	53	47
14	54	46
15	54	46
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	54	46
31	54	46

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Rangiora gets around 59 mm of rain and snow over 9 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 30% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	29	29	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	33	33	33	33	33

	Rain chance (%)
1	28
2	28
3	28
4	28
5	28
6	28
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	28
13	28
14	28
15	29
16	29
17	30
18	30
19	31
20	31
21	31
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

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	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in May

Winds average 10 km/h in May.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min at the start of May to 9 h 06 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 8:23 AM to 8:55 AM, and sunset from 6:30 PM to 5:59 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)	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1
Sunrise (AM)	8:23	8:24	8:26	8:27	8:28	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:40	8:42	8:43	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:47	8:48	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:52	8:53	8:53	8:54	8:55
Sunset (PM)	6:30	6:29	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:23	6:22	6:21	6:20	6:18	6:17	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:12	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:02	6:02	6:01	6:00	6:00	5:59

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.1	8:23	6:30
2	10.1	8:24	6:29
3	10.0	8:26	6:28
4	10.0	8:27	6:26
5	9.9	8:28	6:25
6	9.9	8:29	6:23
7	9.9	8:30	6:22
8	9.8	8:31	6:21
9	9.8	8:33	6:20
10	9.7	8:34	6:18
11	9.7	8:35	6:17
12	9.7	8:36	6:16
13	9.6	8:37	6:15
14	9.6	8:38	6:14
15	9.6	8:39	6:12
16	9.5	8:40	6:11
17	9.5	8:42	6:10
18	9.4	8:43	6:09
19	9.4	8:44	6:08
20	9.4	8:45	6:07
21	9.3	8:46	6:06
22	9.3	8:47	6:06
23	9.3	8:48	6:05
24	9.3	8:49	6:04
25	9.2	8:50	6:03
26	9.2	8:51	6:02
27	9.2	8:52	6:02
28	9.1	8:53	6:01
29	9.1	8:53	6:00
30	9.1	8:54	6:00
31	9.1	8:55	5:59

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 1.98 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.47 kWh/m² to a high of 6.96 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 1.98 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)	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	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	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6
Level	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	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.4	Moderate
2	2.4	Moderate
3	2.3	Moderate
4	2.3	Moderate
5	2.3	Moderate
6	2.2	Moderate
7	2.2	Moderate
8	2.2	Moderate
9	2.1	Moderate
10	2.1	Moderate
11	2.1	Moderate
12	2.1	Moderate
13	2.0	Moderate
14	2.0	Moderate
15	2.0	Dim
16	2.0	Dim
17	1.9	Dim
18	1.9	Dim
19	1.9	Dim
20	1.9	Dim
21	1.8	Dim
22	1.8	Dim
23	1.8	Dim
24	1.8	Dim
25	1.8	Dim
26	1.7	Dim
27	1.7	Dim
28	1.7	Dim
29	1.7	Dim
30	1.7	Dim
31	1.6	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Rangiora?

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

4.0

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Rangiora for sightseeing.

What to pack for Rangiora in May

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

In May, Rangiora sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Rangiora in May

The nearest coast averages about 13°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 25 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August 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)	17	17	16	15	13	11	9	9	10	12	14	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	17	Cool
Feb	17	Cool
Mar	16	Cool
Apr	15	Bracing
May	13	Bracing
Jun	11	Bracing
Jul	9	Bracing
Aug	9	Bracing
Sep	10	Bracing
Oct	12	Bracing
Nov	14	Bracing
Dec	15	Cool

UV index in Rangiora 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 Rangiora peaks around January 14 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	8	10
Level	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Very high
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	8	Very high
Dec	10	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Rangiora?

Rangiora sits at 43.3°S, 172.6°E, 36 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Christchurch, 26 km away.

Topography around Rangiora

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Rangiora has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 51 m around an average of 34 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 424 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,136 m.

The land around Rangiora is covered by grassland (44%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (41%) and water (30%) within 80 km.

3 km

51 m

grassland 44%

16 km

424 m

grassland 50%

80 km

2,136 m

grassland 41%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Christchurch 26 km · Rolleston 35 km · Ashburton 95 km · Kaikoura 133 km · Timaru 162 km · Tekapo 186 km · Franz Josef 194 km · Richmond 225 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 Rangiora (-43.3044°, 172.5836°, elevation 36 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	6
2	15	6
3	15	6
4	15	6
5	15	6
6	15	6
7	15	6
8	14	6
9	14	6
10	14	6
11	14	6
12	14	6
13	14	6
14	14	5
15	14	5
16	14	5
17	14	5
18	13	5
19	13	5
20	13	5
21	13	5
22	13	5
23	13	5
24	13	4
25	13	4
26	12	4
27	12	4
28	12	4
29	12	4
30	12	4
31	12	4

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	50	50
7	51	49
8	52	48
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	52	48
12	52	48
13	53	47
14	54	46
15	54	46
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	54	46
31	54	46

	Rain chance (%)
1	28
2	28
3	28
4	28
5	28
6	28
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	28
13	28
14	28
15	29
16	29
17	30
18	30
19	31
20	31
21	31
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	50	50
7	51	49
8	52	48
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	52	48
12	52	48
13	53	47
14	54	46
15	54	46
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	54	46
31	54	46

	Rain chance (%)
1	28
2	28
3	28
4	28
5	28
6	28
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	28
13	28
14	28
15	29
16	29
17	30
18	30
19	31
20	31
21	31
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	49	51
3	49	51
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	50	50
7	51	49
8	52	48
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	52	48
12	52	48
13	53	47
14	54	46
15	54	46
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	53	47
19	53	47
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	54	46
31	54	46

	Rain chance (%)
1	28
2	28
3	28
4	28
5	28
6	28
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	28
13	28
14	28
15	29
16	29
17	30
18	30
19	31
20	31
21	31
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

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