Kristiansand weather in May

In May, Kristiansand sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 77 mm of precipitation across 10.8 wet days and about 16.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 16°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 18 min at the start of May to 17 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Kristiansand's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kristiansand's year-round climate.

Daytime high
14°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
77 mm
10.8 wet days
Daylight
16 h 24 min
4:12 AM – 8:37 PM
Cloud cover
58%
1st clearest
Wind
14 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
5.54 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.1
out of 10

Kristiansand is settlement in Kristiansand Municipality, Norway.

Air quality
Good
PM10 18.2 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
4,710/km²
people per km²
Founded
1641

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 12°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical May day in Kristiansand reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 5°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1125
2125
3125
4125
5135
6136
7136
8136
9136
10136
11136
12146
13146
14146
15147
16147
17147
18147
19157
20157
21157
22158
23158
24158
25168
26168
27168
28168
29169
30169
31169

How May really feels in Kristiansand

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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
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.

Kristiansand weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -1°13415.69.36.90.0
Feb / -2°96128.58.90.0
Mar / -0°8611.45.811.40.3
Apr10° / 6911.11.8142.0
May14° / 7710.80.216.44.1
Jun18° / 10°9211017.85.5
Jul20° / 13°9511017.26.1
Aug19° / 12°12413.1015.15.7
Sep15° / 10°12713.4012.54.2
Oct10° / 14115.20.49.92.2
Nov / 1311537.60.5
Dec / -0°12314.35.66.20.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14456
24555
34654
44654
54654
64852
74852
84951
94951
105050
115050
125050
135050
145050
155050
165050
175050
185050
194951
204951
215050
224951
234951
244951
254951
265050
275050
285050
295050
305149
315149

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Kristiansand gets around 77 mm of rain and snow over 10.8 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 36% and peaks near 38% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1382
2382
3372
4362
5361
6351
7341
8341
9341
10341
11341
12351
13351
14360
15360
16360
17360
18360
19370
20370
21370
22370
23360
24360
25360
26350
27350
28350
29340
30340
31330

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 (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
31000
41000
51000
61000
71000
81000
91000
101000
111000
121000
131000
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
221000
231000
241000
251000
261000
271000
281000
291000
30991
31991

Wind in May

Winds average 14 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 14 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
114light breeze
214light breeze
314light breeze
414light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
714light breeze
814light breeze
914light breeze
1014light breeze
1114light breeze
1214light breeze
1314light breeze
1414light breeze
1514light breeze
1614light breeze
1714light breeze
1814light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze
3113light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 18 min at the start of May to 17 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 120 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:47 AM to 3:46 AM, and sunset from 8:04 PM to 9:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.34:478:04
215.44:448:06
315.44:428:08
415.54:398:10
515.64:378:13
615.74:348:15
715.74:328:17
815.84:308:19
915.94:278:21
1016.04:258:24
1116.14:238:26
1216.14:218:28
1316.24:188:30
1416.34:168:32
1516.34:148:34
1616.44:128:37
1716.54:108:39
1816.54:088:41
1916.64:068:43
2016.74:048:45
2116.74:028:47
2216.84:008:49
2316.93:598:51
2416.93:578:52
2517.03:558:54
2617.03:538:56
2717.13:528:58
2817.23:509:00
2917.23:499:01
3017.33:479:03
3117.33:469:05

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.54 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.27 kWh/m² to a high of 6.07 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.54 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.9Bright
25.0Bright
35.0Bright
45.1Bright
55.1Bright
65.2Bright
75.2Bright
85.3Bright
95.3Bright
105.3Bright
115.4Bright
125.4Bright
135.4Bright
145.5Bright
155.5Bright
165.5Bright
175.5Bright
185.6Bright
195.6Bright
205.6Bright
215.7Bright
225.7Bright
235.7Bright
245.8Bright
255.8Bright
265.8Bright
275.9Bright
285.9Bright
296.0Bright
306.0Bright
316.0Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Kristiansand?

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

4.1
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.2
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Kristiansand for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kristiansand in May

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

In May, Kristiansand sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Kristiansand in May

The nearest coast averages about 10°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 August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 4°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

0°5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan5Bracing
Feb4Bracing
Mar4Bracing
Apr6Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep15Cool
Oct12Bracing
Nov9Bracing
Dec7Bracing

UV index in Kristiansand in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kristiansand peaks around July 24 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 24UV 5Dec 20UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kristiansand?

Kristiansand sits at 58.1°N, 8.0°E, 12 m above sea level, in Norway. The nearest listed city is Grimstad, 41 km away.

Topography around Kristiansand

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kristiansand has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 160 m around an average of 30 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 317 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 996 m.

The land around Kristiansand is covered by trees (37%), water (35%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 3 km, trees (54%) and water (37%) within 16 km, and trees (50%) and water (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
160 m
16 km
317 m
80 km
996 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Grimstad 41 km · Arendal 57 km · Hjørring 140 km · Porsgrunn 146 km · Time 149 km · Skien 151 km · Sandnes 153 km · Larvik 155 km

Norway travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 91% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$94,594
2025
Happiness
7.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 613
Religion
Church of Norway 68%other Christian 4%Muslim 3%Roman Catholic 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 Kristiansand (58.1467°, 7.9956°, elevation 12 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).