Timaru weather in May

In May, Timaru sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 52 mm of rain across 8.3 wet days and about 9.4 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 11°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% 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 Timaru's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Timaru's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 12°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 52 mm; 8.3 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 24 min; 8:49 AM – 6:14 PM
Cloud cover: 59%; 1st clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 1.85 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.3; out of 10

Timaru is town in New Zealand's South Island.

Air quality: Moderate; PM2.5 15 µg/m³ · 2012
Density: 862/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1868

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

← April Timaru 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 13°C in the first days to 11°C by the end.

A typical May day in Timaru reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°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)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Avg low (°C)	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5

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

How May really feels in Timaru

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.

Timaru 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	18° / 12°	81	12.8	0	15	5.3
Feb	18° / 13°	72	10.7	0	13.9	5.5
Mar	17° / 11°	63	10.1	0	12.4	5.2
Apr	14° / 9°	64	10.5	0	10.8	4.2
May	12° / 7°	52	8.3	0	9.4	3.3
Jun	9° / 4°	51	8.6	0.6	8.7	2.0
Jul	9° / 3°	54	7.7	0.3	9	1.7
Aug	10° / 4°	53	9.1	0.4	10.2	2.2
Sep	12° / 6°	48	9	0.4	11.7	3.0
Oct	13° / 7°	62	11.5	0.1	13.2	3.5
Nov	15° / 9°	74	12.6	0.1	14.6	4.0
Dec	16° / 11°	80	13.8	0	15.3	4.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%.

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

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

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Timaru gets around 52 mm of rain over 8.3 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 28% and peaks near 30% 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 (%)	30	30	29	29	28	28	27	27	27	26	26	26	27	27	27	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	27	27	27

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

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 12 km/h in May.

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

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 8:31 AM to 9:04 AM, and sunset from 6:34 PM to 6:01 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)	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.3	9.3	9.3	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	8.9
Sunrise (AM)	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:41	8:42	8:43	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:48	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:52	8:53	8:54	8:55	8:56	8:57	8:58	8:59	9:00	9:01	9:02	9:03	9:04
Sunset (PM)	6:34	6:32	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	6:12	6:10	6:09	6:09	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:01

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.0	8:31	6:34
2	10.0	8:32	6:32
3	10.0	8:33	6:31
4	9.9	8:35	6:29
5	9.9	8:36	6:28
6	9.8	8:37	6:26
7	9.8	8:38	6:25
8	9.7	8:39	6:24
9	9.7	8:41	6:22
10	9.7	8:42	6:21
11	9.6	8:43	6:20
12	9.6	8:44	6:18
13	9.5	8:45	6:17
14	9.5	8:46	6:16
15	9.5	8:48	6:15
16	9.4	8:49	6:14
17	9.4	8:50	6:13
18	9.3	8:51	6:12
19	9.3	8:52	6:10
20	9.3	8:53	6:09
21	9.2	8:54	6:09
22	9.2	8:55	6:08
23	9.2	8:56	6:07
24	9.1	8:57	6:06
25	9.1	8:58	6:05
26	9.1	8:59	6:04
27	9.0	9:00	6:03
28	9.0	9:01	6:03
29	9.0	9:02	6:02
30	9.0	9:03	6:01
31	8.9	9:04	6:01

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 1.85 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.39 kWh/m² to a high of 6.68 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 1.85 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)	2.3	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	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.5
Level	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	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.3	Moderate
2	2.2	Moderate
3	2.2	Moderate
4	2.2	Moderate
5	2.1	Moderate
6	2.1	Moderate
7	2.1	Moderate
8	2.0	Moderate
9	2.0	Moderate
10	2.0	Dim
11	2.0	Dim
12	1.9	Dim
13	1.9	Dim
14	1.9	Dim
15	1.9	Dim
16	1.8	Dim
17	1.8	Dim
18	1.8	Dim
19	1.8	Dim
20	1.7	Dim
21	1.7	Dim
22	1.7	Dim
23	1.7	Dim
24	1.6	Dim
25	1.6	Dim
26	1.6	Dim
27	1.6	Dim
28	1.6	Dim
29	1.6	Dim
30	1.6	Dim
31	1.5	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Timaru?

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

3.3

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Timaru.

What to pack for Timaru in May

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

In May, Timaru sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Timaru in May

The nearest coast averages about 12°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore 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)	16	17	16	14	12	10	9	9	10	11	13	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

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

UV index in Timaru 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 Timaru peaks around January 15 at about 10 (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	1	2	3	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	1	Low
Aug	2	Moderate
Sep	3	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	10	Very high

Air quality in Timaru in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Timaru is worst in September — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.2× the cleanest month (June, 7 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Timaru's WHO annual average of 15 µg/m³.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	18	21	21	11	8	7	8	12	23	16	17	18
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	18	Moderate
Feb	21	Moderate
Mar	21	Moderate
Apr	11	Good
May	8	Good
Jun	7	Good
Jul	8	Good
Aug	12	Good
Sep	23	Moderate
Oct	16	Moderate
Nov	17	Moderate
Dec	18	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Timaru?

Timaru sits at 44.4°S, 171.3°E, 14 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Ashburton, 67 km away.

Topography around Timaru

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Timaru has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m around an average of 11 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 383 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,287 m.

The land around Timaru is covered by water (44%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 3 km, water (47%) and grassland (28%) within 16 km, and grassland (54%) and water (28%) within 80 km.

3 km

57 m

water 44%

16 km

383 m

water 47%

80 km

2,287 m

grassland 54%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Ashburton 67 km · Tekapo 75 km · Rolleston 128 km · Franz Josef 141 km · Christchurch 146 km · Rangiora 162 km · Wanaka 170 km · Dunedin 175 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 Timaru (-44.3967°, 171.2536°, elevation 14 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. 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	13	8
2	13	8
3	13	8
4	13	8
5	13	8
6	13	8
7	13	7
8	13	7
9	13	7
10	13	7
11	13	7
12	12	7
13	12	7
14	12	7
15	12	7
16	12	7
17	12	7
18	12	7
19	12	6
20	12	6
21	12	6
22	11	6
23	11	6
24	11	6
25	11	6
26	11	6
27	11	6
28	11	6
29	11	5
30	11	5
31	11	5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

	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