Wanaka weather in May

In May, Wanaka sees average daytime highs of 8°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 104 mm of precipitation across 12.7 wet days and about 9.4 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 10°C in the first days to 6°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% 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 Wanaka's 9th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wanaka's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 8°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 2°; 5th coldest
Precipitation: 104 mm; 12.7 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 24 min; 8:58 AM – 6:21 PM
Cloud cover: 73%; 9th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 1.57 kWh/m²
Travel score: 1.4; out of 10

Wanaka is ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.

Density: 461/km²; people per km²

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

← April Wanaka 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 10°C in the first days to 6°C by the end.

A typical May day in Wanaka reaches about 8°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 4°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C cooler than April and about 4°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)	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6
Avg low (°C)	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	3
2	11	3
3	10	3
4	10	3
5	10	3
6	10	3
7	10	3
8	10	3
9	10	3
10	9	3
11	9	3
12	9	3
13	9	2
14	9	2
15	9	2
16	8	2
17	8	2
18	8	2
19	8	2
20	8	1
21	8	1
22	7	1
23	7	1
24	7	1
25	7	1
26	7	1
27	6	0
28	6	0
29	6	0
30	6	0
31	6	0

How May really feels in Wanaka

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 13 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

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

Wanaka weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	17° / 9°	113	11.2	0.1	15	5.4
Feb	18° / 9°	81	9.3	0.1	13.9	5.6
Mar	15° / 7°	96	10.5	0.1	12.4	4.6
Apr	12° / 4°	89	10.2	0.5	10.8	3.2
May	8° / 2°	104	12.7	2.2	9.4	1.4
Jun	4° / -1°	85	10.6	4.3	8.7	0.0
Jul	3° / -3°	79	9.7	5	9	0.0
Aug	5° / -1°	78	10.6	4.6	10.1	0.2
Sep	8° / 1°	110	12.8	3.9	11.7	1.3
Oct	11° / 2°	118	14	2.7	13.3	2.4
Nov	13° / 5°	116	13.4	1.2	14.6	3.4
Dec	16° / 7°	124	14.1	0.3	15.3	4.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 72%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	35	34	33	33	32	31	31	30	30	30	29	28	28	27	26	25	26	26	26	25	25	26	25	25	24	25	26	26	26	26	26
Cloudier (%)	65	66	67	67	68	69	69	70	70	70	71	72	72	73	74	75	74	74	74	75	75	74	75	75	76	75	74	74	74	74	74

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	34	66
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	30	70
9	30	70
10	30	70
11	29	71
12	28	72
13	28	72
14	27	73
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	26	74
18	26	74
19	26	74
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	26	74
23	25	75
24	25	75
25	24	76
26	25	75
27	26	74
28	26	74
29	26	74
30	26	74
31	26	74

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Wanaka gets around 104 mm of rain and snow over 12.7 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 41% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring 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 (%)	36	37	38	38	39	39	40	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	40	40	39
Snow chance (%)	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	12

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

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 6 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 6 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)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5
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	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	6	calm
20	6	calm
21	6	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	5	calm
31	5	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 8:40 AM to 9:14 AM, and sunset from 6:41 PM to 6:08 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	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.8	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	8.9
Sunrise (AM)	8:40	8:41	8:42	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:47	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:52	8:53	8:55	8:56	8:57	8:58	8:59	9:00	9:01	9:03	9:04	9:05	9:06	9:07	9:08	9:09	9:10	9:11	9:12	9:13	9:14
Sunset (PM)	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:35	6:34	6:33	6:31	6:30	6:29	6:27	6:26	6:25	6:24	6:22	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:17	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:13	6:12	6:12	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:09	6:08

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.0	8:40	6:41
2	10.0	8:41	6:40
3	9.9	8:42	6:38
4	9.9	8:44	6:37
5	9.8	8:45	6:35
6	9.8	8:46	6:34
7	9.8	8:47	6:33
8	9.7	8:49	6:31
9	9.7	8:50	6:30
10	9.6	8:51	6:29
11	9.6	8:52	6:27
12	9.5	8:53	6:26
13	9.5	8:55	6:25
14	9.5	8:56	6:24
15	9.4	8:57	6:22
16	9.4	8:58	6:21
17	9.3	8:59	6:20
18	9.3	9:00	6:19
19	9.3	9:01	6:18
20	9.2	9:03	6:17
21	9.2	9:04	6:16
22	9.2	9:05	6:15
23	9.1	9:06	6:14
24	9.1	9:07	6:13
25	9.1	9:08	6:12
26	9.0	9:09	6:12
27	9.0	9:10	6:11
28	9.0	9:11	6:10
29	9.0	9:12	6:09
30	8.9	9:13	6:09
31	8.9	9:14	6:08

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 1.57 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.21 kWh/m² to a high of 6.66 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 1.57 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)	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	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	2.0	Moderate
2	2.0	Moderate
3	2.0	Dim
4	1.9	Dim
5	1.9	Dim
6	1.9	Dim
7	1.8	Dim
8	1.8	Dim
9	1.8	Dim
10	1.7	Dim
11	1.7	Dim
12	1.7	Dim
13	1.6	Dim
14	1.6	Dim
15	1.6	Dim
16	1.6	Dim
17	1.5	Dim
18	1.5	Dim
19	1.5	Dim
20	1.5	Dim
21	1.4	Dim
22	1.4	Dim
23	1.4	Dim
24	1.4	Dim
25	1.4	Dim
26	1.4	Dim
27	1.4	Dim
28	1.3	Dim
29	1.3	Dim
30	1.3	Dim
31	1.3	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Wanaka?

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

1.4

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 Wanaka.

What to pack for Wanaka in May

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

In May, Wanaka sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Wanaka 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 Wanaka peaks around January 15 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	9	6	3	2	1	2	2	5	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	9	Very high
Mar	6	High
Apr	3	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	2	Moderate
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	10	Very high

Location & terrain

Where is Wanaka?

Wanaka sits at 44.7°S, 169.2°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Queenstown, 53 km away.

Topography around Wanaka

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Wanaka has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 258 m around an average of 325 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,573 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,837 m.

The land around Wanaka is covered by grassland (49%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, grassland (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) and trees (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

258 m

grassland 49%

16 km

1,573 m

grassland 64%

80 km

2,837 m

grassland 68%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater

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

May weather nearby: Queenstown 53 km · Tekapo 131 km · Franz Josef 167 km · Dunedin 168 km · Timaru 170 km · Invercargill 199 km · Ashburton 224 km · Rolleston 286 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 Wanaka (-44.7°, 169.15°, 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	11	3
2	11	3
3	10	3
4	10	3
5	10	3
6	10	3
7	10	3
8	10	3
9	10	3
10	9	3
11	9	3
12	9	3
13	9	2
14	9	2
15	9	2
16	8	2
17	8	2
18	8	2
19	8	2
20	8	1
21	8	1
22	7	1
23	7	1
24	7	1
25	7	1
26	7	1
27	6	0
28	6	0
29	6	0
30	6	0
31	6	0

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	34	66
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	30	70
9	30	70
10	30	70
11	29	71
12	28	72
13	28	72
14	27	73
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	26	74
18	26	74
19	26	74
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	26	74
23	25	75
24	25	75
25	24	76
26	25	75
27	26	74
28	26	74
29	26	74
30	26	74
31	26	74

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	34	66
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	30	70
9	30	70
10	30	70
11	29	71
12	28	72
13	28	72
14	27	73
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	26	74
18	26	74
19	26	74
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	26	74
23	25	75
24	25	75
25	24	76
26	25	75
27	26	74
28	26	74
29	26	74
30	26	74
31	26	74

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	34	66
3	33	67
4	33	67
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	31	69
8	30	70
9	30	70
10	30	70
11	29	71
12	28	72
13	28	72
14	27	73
15	26	74
16	25	75
17	26	74
18	26	74
19	26	74
20	25	75
21	25	75
22	26	74
23	25	75
24	25	75
25	24	76
26	25	75
27	26	74
28	26	74
29	26	74
30	26	74
31	26	74

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

	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