Kandalaksha weather in May

In May, Kandalaksha sees average daytime highs of 8°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 47 mm of precipitation across 10.5 wet days and about 19.2 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 6°C in the first days to 11°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 17 hours at the start of May to 21 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Kandalaksha's 6th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kandalaksha's year-round climate.

Daytime high
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Precipitation
47 mm
10.5 wet days
Daylight
19 h 06 min
3:12 AM – 10:21 PM
Cloud cover
78%
6th clearest
Wind
11 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
4.5 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.4
out of 10

Kandalaksha is human settlement in Russia.

Density
6/km²
people per km²
Founded
1526

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 6°C in the first days to 11°C by the end.

A typical May day in Kandalaksha 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 3°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 6°C warmer than April and about 6°C cooler than June.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
15-1
26-1
36-1
46-1
560
660
770
870
970
1070
1171
1271
1381
1481
1581
1682
1792
1892
1992
2092
2192
22103
23103
24103
25103
26103
27114
28114
29114
30114
31114

How May really feels in Kandalaksha

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 24 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
24
wind chill below the day's low

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

Kandalaksha weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-8° / -13°369.711.52.80.0
Feb-8° / -13°308.510.47.20.0
Mar-3° / -9°328.29.211.10.0
Apr / -4°327.97.1150.0
May / 4710.53.519.21.4
Jun14° / 61110.223.53.8
Jul17° / 10°7912.6021.55.1
Aug15° / 6311.9016.84.2
Sep10° / 6110.70.412.82.1
Oct / -0°5911.25.48.90.1
Nov-2° / -6°4710.911.24.70.0
Dec-5° / -10°4110.412.60.40.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 9% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 80%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12278
22377
32278
42278
52179
62179
72179
82179
92080
101981
111981
121981
131882
141981
151981
161981
171882
181882
191783
201882
211981
221981
231981
242080
252080
262179
272179
282278
292278
302377
312377

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Kandalaksha gets around 47 mm of rain and snow over 10.5 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 33% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12919
23018
33118
43118
53217
63317
73317
83417
93416
103416
113415
123414
133414
143413
153312
163311
173310
183310
19339
20338
21338
22337
23336
24336
25335
26345
27344
28344
29343
30353
31353

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 (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

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.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 17 hours at the start of May to 21 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 264 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:16 AM to 2:04 AM, and sunset from 9:19 PM to 11:31 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
117.04:169:19
217.24:129:23
317.34:089:27
417.54:039:31
517.63:599:35
617.73:559:39
717.93:519:43
818.03:479:47
918.13:429:51
1018.33:389:55
1118.43:3410:00
1218.63:3010:04
1318.73:2510:08
1418.93:2110:12
1519.03:1710:16
1619.13:1210:21
1719.33:0810:25
1819.43:0410:30
1919.62:5910:34
2019.72:5510:38
2119.92:5110:43
2220.02:4610:47
2320.22:4210:52
2420.32:3710:57
2520.52:3311:01
2620.62:2811:06
2720.82:2411:11
2821.02:1911:16
2921.12:1411:21
3021.32:0911:26
3121.42:0411:31

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.5 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0 kWh/m² to a high of 5.07 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 4.5 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.1Bright
24.1Bright
34.1Bright
44.2Bright
54.2Bright
64.2Bright
74.2Bright
84.2Bright
94.3Bright
104.3Bright
114.3Bright
124.3Bright
134.4Bright
144.4Bright
154.4Bright
164.5Bright
174.5Bright
184.5Bright
194.6Bright
204.6Bright
214.7Bright
224.7Bright
234.7Bright
244.8Bright
254.8Bright
264.8Bright
274.9Bright
284.9Bright
294.9Bright
305.0Bright
315.0Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Kandalaksha?

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

1.4
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kandalaksha.

What to pack for Kandalaksha in May

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

In May, Kandalaksha sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Kandalaksha in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kandalaksha peaks around July 14 at about 4 (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 14UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep1Low
Oct0Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kandalaksha?

Kandalaksha sits at 67.2°N, 32.4°E, 29 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Polyarnyye Zori, 24 km away.

Topography around Kandalaksha

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kandalaksha has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 289 m around an average of 50 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 651 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,201 m.

The land around Kandalaksha is covered by trees (53%) and water (31%) within 3 km, trees (67%) and water (24%) within 16 km, and trees (71%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
289 m
16 km
651 m
80 km
1,201 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswaterwetlandmoss and lichen
May weather nearby: Polyarnyye Zori 24 km · Apatity 64 km · Kirovsk 75 km · Monchegorsk 90 km · Kovdor 95 km · Olenegorsk 116 km · Murmansk 204 km · Severomorsk 217 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 2%

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 Kandalaksha (67.1512°, 32.4128°, elevation 29 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).