Oslo weather in May

In May, Oslo sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 77 mm of precipitation across 11.4 wet days and about 16.7 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 30 min at the start of May to 17 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Oslo's 1st-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Oslo's year-round climate.

Daytime high
15°
4th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
77 mm
11.4 wet days
Daylight
16 h 48 min
3:50 AM – 8:36 PM
Cloud cover
63%
1st clearest
Wind
9 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.19 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.3
out of 10

Oslo is capital city of Norway.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
39,933/km²
people per km²
Founded
1048

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 13°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical May day in Oslo reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 6°C warmer than April and about 4°C cooler than June.

10°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1133
2133
3133
4133
5134
6134
7134
8144
9144
10144
11144
12145
13145
14155
15155
16155
17155
18156
19156
20166
21166
22166
23167
24167
25167
26177
27177
28177
29177
30178
31188

How May really feels in Oslo

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.

Oslo weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 4th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-2° / -7°7210.910.56.40.0
Feb-1° / -7°528.58.48.70.0
Mar / -4°548.27.111.30.1
Apr / 559.13.314.12.0
May15° / 7711.40.816.74.3
Jun19° / 9512.3018.35.5
Jul21° / 12°10012.7017.75.9
Aug19° / 11°11214.2015.35.6
Sep15° / 8910.8012.64.3
Oct / 9411.71.49.81.6
Nov / -1°921267.20.0
Dec-1° / -5°7111.18.15.70.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% 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 60%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23763
33763
43763
53763
63862
73961
84060
94060
104060
114060
124060
134060
144060
154060
164060
174060
184060
194060
204060
214159
224159
234258
244258
254357
264456
274357
284357
294357
304456
314456

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Oslo gets around 77 mm of rain and snow over 11.4 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 37% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1346
2356
3356
4346
5346
6346
7345
8345
9345
10345
11354
12354
13364
14364
15373
16383
17383
18392
19392
20392
21401
22401
23401
24391
25390
26390
27380
28380
29370
30370
31370

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 99% 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
14991
15991
16991
17991
18991
19991
20991
21991
22982
23982
24982
25982
26982
27982
28982
29982
30982
31973

Wind in May

Winds average 9 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 9 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
19calm
29calm
39calm
49calm
59calm
69calm
79calm
89calm
99calm
109calm
119calm
129calm
139calm
149calm
159calm
169calm
179calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 30 min at the start of May to 17 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 138 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:28 AM to 3:21 AM, and sunset from 8:00 PM to 9:08 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.54:288:00
215.64:258:03
315.74:238:05
415.84:208:08
515.94:178:10
616.04:158:13
716.04:128:15
816.14:108:17
916.24:078:20
1016.34:048:22
1116.44:028:25
1216.54:008:27
1316.53:578:29
1416.63:558:32
1516.73:528:34
1616.83:508:36
1716.83:488:39
1816.93:468:41
1917.03:438:43
2017.13:418:46
2117.13:398:48
2217.23:378:50
2317.33:358:52
2417.43:338:54
2517.43:318:56
2617.53:298:58
2717.53:279:00
2817.63:269:02
2917.73:249:04
3017.73:229:06
3117.83:219:08

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.19 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.19 kWh/m² to a high of 5.56 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.19 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.6Bright
24.6Bright
34.7Bright
44.7Bright
54.8Bright
64.8Bright
74.9Bright
84.9Bright
95.0Bright
105.0Bright
115.0Bright
125.1Bright
135.1Bright
145.1Bright
155.2Bright
165.2Bright
175.2Bright
185.2Bright
195.3Bright
205.3Bright
215.3Bright
225.3Bright
235.4Bright
245.4Bright
255.5Bright
265.5Bright
275.5Bright
285.5Bright
295.6Bright
305.6Bright
315.6Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Oslo?

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

4.3
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.4
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Oslo for sightseeing.

What to pack for Oslo in May

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

In May, Oslo sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Oslo in May

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 60 km away) is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 3°C.

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

0°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan4Bracing
Feb3Bracing
Mar3Bracing
Apr6Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun15Cool
Jul18Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep15Cool
Oct12Bracing
Nov9Bracing
Dec6Bracing

UV index in Oslo in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Oslo peaks around July 15 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 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 15UV 5Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Oslo?

Oslo sits at 59.9°N, 10.7°E, 26 m above sea level, in Norway. The nearest listed city is Lillestrøm, 18 km away.

Topography around Oslo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Oslo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 169 m around an average of 41 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 535 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,381 m.

The land around Oslo is covered by artificial surfaces (47%), trees (29%) and water (21%) within 3 km, trees (63%) within 16 km, and trees (75%) within 80 km.

3 km
169 m
16 km
535 m
80 km
1,381 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Lillestrøm 18 km · Asker 19 km · Drammen 36 km · Moss 53 km · Horten 57 km · Kongsberg 67 km · Sarpsborg 73 km · Tønsberg 74 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 Oslo (59.9127°, 10.7461°, elevation 26 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).