Middelburg weather in May

In May, Middelburg sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 15 mm of rain across 3.3 wet days and about 10.4 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 20°C in the first days to 17°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 48 min at the start of May to 10 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Middelburg's 5th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Middelburg's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 5°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 15 mm; 3.3 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 24 min; 7:04 AM – 5:28 PM
Cloud cover: 34%; 5th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 3.74 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.5; out of 10

Middelburg is town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Founded: 1852

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

← April Middelburg 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 20°C in the first days to 17°C by the end.

A typical May day in Middelburg reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 24°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°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)	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	17
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3

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

How May really feels in Middelburg

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 1 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.

Middelburg weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	29° / 15°	76	10.5	13.8	5.6
Feb	29° / 15°	73	10.5	13.2	5.9
Mar	26° / 13°	59	9.1	12.2	7.1
Apr	22° / 9°	33	6.1	11.3	7.7
May	19° / 5°	15	3.3	10.4	7.5
Jun	16° / 2°	13	2.3	10	6.2
Jul	16° / 1°	12	2.3	10.2	6.2
Aug	18° / 3°	14	2.6	10.9	7.3
Sep	22° / 7°	18	2.8	11.8	8.2
Oct	24° / 9°	30	5.2	12.8	8.1
Nov	27° / 11°	46	6.3	13.6	7.5
Dec	29° / 13°	51	7.8	14	6.3

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 62% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 23%.

	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 (%)	77	77	77	77	77	77	77	76	76	76	76	76	76	76	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	76	76	77	77	78	78	79	79	80	80
Cloudier (%)	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	23	23	22	22	21	21	20	20

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	77	23
6	77	23
7	77	23
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	76	24
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	75	25
22	76	24
23	76	24
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	80	20
31	80	20

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Middelburg gets around 15 mm of rain over 3.3 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 11% and peaks near 16% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	16	15	15	15	14	14	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6

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

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 11 km/h on the calmest days to 13 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)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	11	calm
2	11	calm
3	11	calm
4	11	calm
5	11	calm
6	11	calm
7	11	calm
8	11	calm
9	11	calm
10	11	calm
11	11	calm
12	11	calm
13	11	calm
14	11	calm
15	11	calm
16	11	calm
17	11	calm
18	12	calm
19	12	calm
20	12	calm
21	12	calm
22	12	calm
23	12	light breeze
24	12	light breeze
25	12	light breeze
26	12	light breeze
27	12	light breeze
28	12	light breeze
29	12	light breeze
30	13	light breeze
31	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 48 min at the start of May to 10 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 42 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:54 AM to 7:14 AM, and sunset from 5:41 PM to 5:21 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)	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1
Sunrise (AM)	6:54	6:54	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:58	6:59	6:59	7:00	7:01	7:01	7:02	7:03	7:03	7:04	7:05	7:06	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:10	7:11	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:13	7:14
Sunset (PM)	5:41	5:40	5:39	5:38	5:37	5:36	5:35	5:34	5:34	5:33	5:32	5:31	5:30	5:30	5:29	5:28	5:28	5:27	5:26	5:26	5:25	5:25	5:24	5:24	5:23	5:23	5:22	5:22	5:22	5:21	5:21

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.8	6:54	5:41
2	10.8	6:54	5:40
3	10.7	6:55	5:39
4	10.7	6:56	5:38
5	10.7	6:56	5:37
6	10.6	6:57	5:36
7	10.6	6:58	5:35
8	10.6	6:59	5:34
9	10.6	6:59	5:34
10	10.5	7:00	5:33
11	10.5	7:01	5:32
12	10.5	7:01	5:31
13	10.5	7:02	5:30
14	10.4	7:03	5:30
15	10.4	7:03	5:29
16	10.4	7:04	5:28
17	10.4	7:05	5:28
18	10.4	7:06	5:27
19	10.3	7:06	5:26
20	10.3	7:07	5:26
21	10.3	7:08	5:25
22	10.3	7:08	5:25
23	10.3	7:09	5:24
24	10.2	7:10	5:24
25	10.2	7:10	5:23
26	10.2	7:11	5:23
27	10.2	7:11	5:22
28	10.2	7:12	5:22
29	10.1	7:13	5:22
30	10.1	7:13	5:21
31	10.1	7:14	5:21

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 3.74 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.26 kWh/m² to a high of 8.18 kWh/m² in December across the year — May's 3.74 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)	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.2	Bright
2	4.1	Bright
3	4.1	Bright
4	4.1	Bright
5	4.0	Bright
6	4.0	Bright
7	4.0	Moderate
8	4.0	Moderate
9	3.9	Moderate
10	3.9	Moderate
11	3.9	Moderate
12	3.8	Moderate
13	3.8	Moderate
14	3.8	Moderate
15	3.8	Moderate
16	3.7	Moderate
17	3.7	Moderate
18	3.7	Moderate
19	3.7	Moderate
20	3.6	Moderate
21	3.6	Moderate
22	3.6	Moderate
23	3.6	Moderate
24	3.5	Moderate
25	3.5	Moderate
26	3.5	Moderate
27	3.5	Moderate
28	3.5	Moderate
29	3.5	Moderate
30	3.4	Moderate
31	3.4	Moderate

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Middelburg?

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

7.5

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

3.2

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Middelburg for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Middelburg in May

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

In May, Middelburg sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 3 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Middelburg 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 Middelburg peaks around January 14 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 4 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	15	13	11	7	5	4	4	6	7	11	12	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	7	High
May	5	High
Jun	4	Moderate
Jul	4	Moderate
Aug	6	High
Sep	7	Very high
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	14	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Middelburg?

Middelburg sits at 31.5°S, 25.0°E, 1,253 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Cradock, 94 km away.

Topography around Middelburg

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Middelburg has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 150 m around an average of 1,263 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 686 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,530 m.

The land around Middelburg is covered by grassland (61%) within 3 km, grassland (85%) within 16 km, and grassland (90%) within 80 km.

3 km

150 m

grassland 61%

16 km

686 m

grassland 85%

80 km

1,530 m

grassland 90%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

May weather nearby: Cradock 94 km · Graaff Reinet 96 km · De Aar 133 km · Burgersdorp 137 km · Somerset East 147 km · Queenstown 182 km · Aliwal North 185 km · Whittlesea 188 km

South Africa travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / M / N; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 41% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $6,598; 2025
Happiness: 5.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 68%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 43.7; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 22.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very high; EF EPI 602
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 Middelburg (-31.4929°, 25.0063°, elevation 1,253 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	21	7
2	20	7
3	20	7
4	20	7
5	20	7
6	20	6
7	20	6
8	20	6
9	20	6
10	20	6
11	20	6
12	20	6
13	20	6
14	20	6
15	20	6
16	19	6
17	19	5
18	19	5
19	19	5
20	19	5
21	19	5
22	19	5
23	18	5
24	18	4
25	18	4
26	18	4
27	18	4
28	17	4
29	17	3
30	17	3
31	17	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	77	23
6	77	23
7	77	23
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	76	24
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	75	25
22	76	24
23	76	24
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	80	20
31	80	20

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	77	23
6	77	23
7	77	23
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	76	24
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	75	25
22	76	24
23	76	24
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	80	20
31	80	20

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	77	23
2	77	23
3	77	23
4	77	23
5	77	23
6	77	23
7	77	23
8	76	24
9	76	24
10	76	24
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	76	24
14	76	24
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	75	25
22	76	24
23	76	24
24	77	23
25	77	23
26	78	22
27	78	22
28	79	21
29	79	21
30	80	20
31	80	20

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

	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