Orkney weather in May

In May, Orkney sees average daytime highs of 23°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 19 mm of rain across 3.1 wet days and about 10.7 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 24°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 75% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 hours at the start of May to 10 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Orkney's 4th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Orkney's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 23°; 10th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 19 mm; 3.1 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 42 min; 6:49 AM – 5:30 PM
Cloud cover: 22%; 4th clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 4.27 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.6; out of 10

Orkney is town in North West province, South Africa.

Founded: 1940

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

← April Orkney 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 24°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical May day in Orkney reaches about 23°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 16°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 18°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°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)	24	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21
Avg low (°C)	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

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

How May really feels in Orkney

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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

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.

Orkney weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	29° / 18°	97	14.4	13.5	4.9
Feb	29° / 17°	77	12.3	13	5.4
Mar	27° / 15°	68	10.8	12.2	6.5
Apr	25° / 12°	40	6.9	11.4	7.8
May	23° / 7°	19	3.1	10.7	8.6
Jun	20° / 3°	10	1.5	10.3	8.3
Jul	20° / 3°	5	0.9	10.5	8.5
Aug	23° / 6°	12	1.7	11	9.0
Sep	27° / 10°	15	3	11.8	8.3
Oct	28° / 14°	60	9.4	12.6	6.4
Nov	29° / 15°	73	11.3	13.3	5.5
Dec	30° / 17°	99	14.9	13.7	4.8

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 75% 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 13%. Skies tend to open up 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 (%)	85	85	86	86	86	87	87	88	88	88	88	87	87	87	87	86	86	86	85	85	85	85	85	86	87	87	87	87	87	88	88
Cloudier (%)	15	15	14	14	14	13	13	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	14	13	13	13	13	13	12	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	86	14
5	86	14
6	87	13
7	87	13
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	86	14
17	86	14
18	86	14
19	85	15
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	86	14
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	87	13
28	87	13
29	87	13
30	88	12
31	88	12

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Orkney gets around 19 mm of rain over 3.1 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 10% 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	14	14	13	13	12	12	12	11	11	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6

	Rain chance (%)
1	16
2	15
3	14
4	14
5	13
6	13
7	12
8	12
9	12
10	11
11	11
12	10
13	10
14	10
15	10
16	9
17	9
18	9
19	9
20	9
21	9
22	8
23	8
24	7
25	7
26	7
27	6
28	6
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 (%)	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in May

Winds average 9 km/h in May, the calmest month.

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.

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 hours at the start of May to 10 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 36 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:41 AM to 6:57 AM, and sunset from 5:40 PM to 5:24 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)	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.4
Sunrise (AM)	6:41	6:41	6:42	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:47	6:48	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:50	6:51	6:52	6:52	6:53	6:53	6:54	6:54	6:55	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:57
Sunset (PM)	5:40	5:39	5:39	5:38	5:37	5:36	5:36	5:35	5:34	5:33	5:33	5:32	5:32	5:31	5:30	5:30	5:29	5:29	5:28	5:28	5:27	5:27	5:26	5:26	5:26	5:25	5:25	5:25	5:24	5:24	5:24

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.0	6:41	5:40
2	11.0	6:41	5:39
3	10.9	6:42	5:39
4	10.9	6:42	5:38
5	10.9	6:43	5:37
6	10.9	6:44	5:36
7	10.9	6:44	5:36
8	10.8	6:45	5:35
9	10.8	6:45	5:34
10	10.8	6:46	5:33
11	10.8	6:46	5:33
12	10.8	6:47	5:32
13	10.7	6:48	5:32
14	10.7	6:48	5:31
15	10.7	6:49	5:30
16	10.7	6:49	5:30
17	10.7	6:50	5:29
18	10.6	6:50	5:29
19	10.6	6:51	5:28
20	10.6	6:52	5:28
21	10.6	6:52	5:27
22	10.6	6:53	5:27
23	10.6	6:53	5:26
24	10.5	6:54	5:26
25	10.5	6:54	5:26
26	10.5	6:55	5:25
27	10.5	6:55	5:25
28	10.5	6:56	5:25
29	10.5	6:56	5:24
30	10.5	6:57	5:24
31	10.4	6:57	5:24

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.27 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.84 kWh/m² to a high of 7.23 kWh/m² in December across the year — May's 4.27 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)	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.5	Bright
2	4.5	Bright
3	4.5	Bright
4	4.5	Bright
5	4.5	Bright
6	4.5	Bright
7	4.5	Bright
8	4.4	Bright
9	4.4	Bright
10	4.4	Bright
11	4.4	Bright
12	4.4	Bright
13	4.3	Bright
14	4.3	Bright
15	4.3	Bright
16	4.3	Bright
17	4.3	Bright
18	4.2	Bright
19	4.2	Bright
20	4.2	Bright
21	4.2	Bright
22	4.2	Bright
23	4.1	Bright
24	4.1	Bright
25	4.1	Bright
26	4.1	Bright
27	4.1	Bright
28	4.0	Bright
29	4.0	Bright
30	4.0	Bright
31	4.0	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Orkney

In seasonPeak

None of Orkney's seasonal hazards are active in May. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Orkney's rainy season runs October–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Orkney?

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

8.6

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

6.2

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Orkney for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Orkney in May

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

In May, Orkney sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: light clothes and a warm layer. About 3 days see rain.

light clothesa warm layer

UV index in Orkney in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Orkney peaks around January 13 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 at about 5 (high).

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	12	9	6	5	5	7	9	11	12	14
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	13	Extreme
Mar	12	Extreme
Apr	9	Very high
May	6	High
Jun	5	Moderate
Jul	5	High
Aug	7	Very high
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	14	Extreme

Air quality in Orkney in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Orkney is worst in June — around 57 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 4.6× the cleanest month (December, 12 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	14	19	26	34	48	57	56	45	38	26	15	12
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	14	Moderate
Feb	19	Moderate
Mar	26	Moderate
Apr	34	Moderate
May	48	Poor
Jun	57	Unhealthy
Jul	56	Unhealthy
Aug	45	Poor
Sep	38	Poor
Oct	26	Moderate
Nov	15	Moderate
Dec	12	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Orkney?

Orkney sits at 27.0°S, 26.7°E, 1,312 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Klerksdorp, 14 km away.

Topography around Orkney

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Orkney has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 51 m around an average of 1,299 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 133 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 445 m.

The land around Orkney is covered by grassland (55%) within 3 km, grassland (57%) and cropland (27%) within 16 km, and grassland (58%) and cropland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km

51 m

grassland 55%

16 km

133 m

grassland 57%

80 km

445 m

grassland 58%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Klerksdorp 14 km · Stilfontein 18 km · Hartbeesfontein 35 km · Viljoenskroon 37 km · Bothaville 46 km · Potchefstroom 52 km · Leeudoringstad 52 km · Vredefort 69 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 Orkney (-26.9802°, 26.6727°, elevation 1,312 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. 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	24	9
2	24	9
3	24	9
4	24	9
5	24	9
6	24	8
7	23	8
8	23	8
9	23	8
10	23	8
11	23	8
12	23	7
13	23	7
14	23	7
15	23	7
16	23	7
17	22	7
18	22	7
19	22	6
20	22	6
21	22	6
22	22	6
23	22	6
24	22	6
25	22	5
26	21	5
27	21	5
28	21	5
29	21	5
30	21	5
31	21	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	86	14
5	86	14
6	87	13
7	87	13
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	86	14
17	86	14
18	86	14
19	85	15
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	86	14
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	87	13
28	87	13
29	87	13
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	86	14
5	86	14
6	87	13
7	87	13
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	86	14
17	86	14
18	86	14
19	85	15
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	86	14
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	87	13
28	87	13
29	87	13
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	85	15
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	86	14
5	86	14
6	87	13
7	87	13
8	88	12
9	88	12
10	88	12
11	88	12
12	87	13
13	87	13
14	87	13
15	87	13
16	86	14
17	86	14
18	86	14
19	85	15
20	85	15
21	85	15
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	86	14
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	87	13
28	87	13
29	87	13
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0