Rolleston weather in May

In May, Rolleston sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 48 mm of rain across 8 wet days and about 9.5 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 13°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 06 min at the start of May to 9 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Rolleston's 1st-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rolleston's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 48 mm; 8 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 30 min; 8:42 AM – 6:11 PM
Cloud cover: 55%; 1st clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 1.96 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.4; out of 10

Rolleston is town in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Density: 1,545/km²; people per km²

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

← April Rolleston 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 16°C in the first days to 13°C by the end.

A typical May day in Rolleston reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 18°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)	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	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

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

How May really feels in Rolleston

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.

Rolleston weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	22° / 12°	53	8.1	14.9	6.8
Feb	22° / 12°	41	6.1	13.8	7.1
Mar	20° / 10°	44	6.5	12.4	6.8
Apr	17° / 8°	51	8.4	10.8	5.7
May	14° / 5°	48	8	9.5	4.4
Jun	11° / 3°	58	9	8.8	3.0
Jul	11° / 2°	54	8.2	9.1	2.8
Aug	12° / 3°	54	9.8	10.2	3.4
Sep	14° / 5°	50	9.4	11.7	4.4
Oct	16° / 7°	57	10.8	13.2	5.1
Nov	18° / 8°	57	9.8	14.5	5.9
Dec	20° / 11°	59	9.8	15.2	6.2

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 15% 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 (%)	49	49	50	50	50	50	50	51	51	52	51	52	52	52	52	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	54	54	53	53	53	53	53	53	52
Cloudier (%)	51	51	50	50	50	50	50	49	49	48	49	48	48	48	48	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	46	46	47	47	47	47	47	47	48

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

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Rolleston gets around 48 mm of rain over 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 27% and peaks near 29% 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 (%)	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	26	26	27	27	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29

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

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 (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in May

Winds average 11 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 11 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)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
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	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	11	calm
15	11	calm
16	11	calm
17	11	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	11	calm
31	11	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 06 min at the start of May to 9 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 8:25 AM to 8:57 AM, and sunset from 6:31 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	9.8	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.0
Sunrise (AM)	8:25	8:26	8:27	8:28	8:29	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:36	8:38	8:39	8:40	8:41	8:42	8:43	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:47	8:48	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:52	8:53	8:54	8:55	8:56	8:57
Sunset (PM)	6:31	6:29	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:24	6:22	6:21	6:20	6:18	6:17	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:13	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:01	6:00	5:59	5:59

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.1	8:25	6:31
2	10.1	8:26	6:29
3	10.0	8:27	6:28
4	10.0	8:28	6:26
5	9.9	8:29	6:25
6	9.9	8:31	6:24
7	9.8	8:32	6:22
8	9.8	8:33	6:21
9	9.8	8:34	6:20
10	9.7	8:35	6:18
11	9.7	8:36	6:17
12	9.6	8:38	6:16
13	9.6	8:39	6:15
14	9.6	8:40	6:14
15	9.5	8:41	6:13
16	9.5	8:42	6:11
17	9.5	8:43	6:10
18	9.4	8:44	6:09
19	9.4	8:45	6:08
20	9.4	8:46	6:07
21	9.3	8:47	6:06
22	9.3	8:48	6:06
23	9.3	8:49	6:05
24	9.2	8:50	6:04
25	9.2	8:51	6:03
26	9.2	8:52	6:02
27	9.1	8:53	6:01
28	9.1	8:54	6:01
29	9.1	8:55	6:00
30	9.1	8:56	5:59
31	9.0	8:57	5:59

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 1.96 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.46 kWh/m² to a high of 6.98 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 1.96 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	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	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	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	2.3	Moderate
3	2.3	Moderate
4	2.3	Moderate
5	2.2	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	2.0	Moderate
13	2.0	Moderate
14	2.0	Moderate
15	2.0	Dim
16	1.9	Dim
17	1.9	Dim
18	1.9	Dim
19	1.9	Dim
20	1.8	Dim
21	1.8	Dim
22	1.8	Dim
23	1.8	Dim
24	1.8	Dim
25	1.7	Dim
26	1.7	Dim
27	1.7	Dim
28	1.7	Dim
29	1.7	Dim
30	1.6	Dim
31	1.6	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Rolleston?

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

4.4

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.1

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Rolleston for sightseeing.

What to pack for Rolleston in May

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

In May, Rolleston sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Rolleston 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 32 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	14	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	14	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 Rolleston 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 Rolleston peaks around January 16 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	3	2	1	2	2	4	6	8	10
Level	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Very high
Mar	6	High
Apr	3	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	2	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	10	Very high

Location & terrain

Where is Rolleston?

Rolleston sits at 43.6°S, 172.4°E, 60 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Christchurch, 21 km away.

Topography around Rolleston

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Rolleston has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 45 m around an average of 59 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 166 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,161 m.

The land around Rolleston is covered by grassland (42%) and cropland (27%) within 3 km, grassland (52%) and cropland (30%) within 16 km, and water (37%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km

45 m

grassland 42%

16 km

166 m

grassland 52%

80 km

2,161 m

water 37%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Christchurch 21 km · Rangiora 35 km · Ashburton 63 km · Timaru 128 km · Tekapo 160 km · Kaikoura 167 km · Franz Josef 179 km · Richmond 259 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 Rolleston (-43.5833°, 172.3833°, elevation 60 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	16	7
2	16	7
3	16	7
4	16	6
5	15	6
6	15	6
7	15	6
8	15	6
9	15	6
10	15	6
11	15	6
12	15	6
13	15	6
14	15	6
15	14	6
16	14	5
17	14	5
18	14	5
19	14	5
20	14	5
21	14	5
22	14	5
23	13	5
24	13	5
25	13	5
26	13	4
27	13	4
28	13	4
29	13	4
30	13	4
31	13	4

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0