Oudtshoorn weather in May

In May, Oudtshoorn sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 25 mm of rain across 4.7 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 42 min at the start of May to 10 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Oudtshoorn's 9th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Oudtshoorn's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 25 mm; 4.7 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 18 min; 7:20 AM – 5:35 PM
Cloud cover: 44%; 9th clearest
Wind: 8 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 3.26 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.6; out of 10

Oudtshoorn is town in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Density: 1,960/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1857

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

← April Oudtshoorn 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 22°C in the first days to 19°C by the end.

A typical May day in Oudtshoorn reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 27°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)	23	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	19	19	19
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	7

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

Oudtshoorn weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	29° / 16°	30	6.2	14	6.2
Feb	29° / 16°	27	5.6	13.2	6.1
Mar	28° / 15°	38	6.9	12.3	7.0
Apr	24° / 12°	34	6.2	11.2	7.7
May	21° / 9°	25	4.7	10.3	7.6
Jun	18° / 5°	24	5	9.8	7.0
Jul	18° / 5°	26	5.4	10	6.9
Aug	19° / 6°	33	6.1	10.8	7.0
Sep	21° / 8°	27	5.2	11.8	7.5
Oct	24° / 11°	41	6.5	12.8	7.7
Nov	26° / 12°	48	7.1	13.7	7.4
Dec	28° / 14°	31	6.1	14.2	6.9

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 35%.

	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 (%)	65	67	67	67	68	69	69	69	69	69	69	68	67	66	66	65	64	63	63	61	61	61	60	60	61	61	61	62	62	64	64
Cloudier (%)	35	33	33	33	32	31	31	31	31	31	31	32	33	34	34	35	36	37	37	39	39	39	40	40	39	39	39	38	38	36	36

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	67	33
14	66	34
15	66	34
16	65	35
17	64	36
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	61	39
21	61	39
22	61	39
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	64	36
31	64	36

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Oudtshoorn gets around 25 mm of rain over 4.7 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 15% and peaks near 18% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	18	17	17	16	16	15	14	14	14	13	13	12	12	12	12	13	13	14	14	15	15	16	16	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18

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

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.

	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 (%)	97	97	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	97	3
2	97	3
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
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 8 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 8 km/h on the calmest days to 8 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)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
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	8	calm
2	8	calm
3	8	calm
4	8	calm
5	8	calm
6	8	calm
7	8	calm
8	8	calm
9	8	calm
10	8	calm
11	8	calm
12	8	calm
13	8	calm
14	8	calm
15	8	calm
16	8	calm
17	8	calm
18	8	calm
19	8	calm
20	8	calm
21	8	calm
22	8	calm
23	8	calm
24	8	calm
25	8	calm
26	8	calm
27	8	calm
28	8	calm
29	8	calm
30	8	calm
31	8	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 42 min at the start of May to 10 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 42 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 7:08 AM to 7:30 AM, and sunset from 5:49 PM to 5:27 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)	10.7	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0
Sunrise (AM)	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:10	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:27	7:28	7:29	7:29	7:30
Sunset (PM)	5:49	5:48	5:47	5:46	5:45	5:44	5:43	5:42	5:41	5:40	5:39	5:38	5:38	5:37	5:36	5:35	5:35	5:34	5:33	5:33	5:32	5:31	5:31	5:30	5:30	5:29	5:29	5:28	5:28	5:28	5:27

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.7	7:08	5:49
2	10.7	7:09	5:48
3	10.6	7:10	5:47
4	10.6	7:10	5:46
5	10.6	7:11	5:45
6	10.5	7:12	5:44
7	10.5	7:13	5:43
8	10.5	7:13	5:42
9	10.4	7:14	5:41
10	10.4	7:15	5:40
11	10.4	7:16	5:39
12	10.4	7:16	5:38
13	10.3	7:17	5:38
14	10.3	7:18	5:37
15	10.3	7:19	5:36
16	10.3	7:20	5:35
17	10.2	7:20	5:35
18	10.2	7:21	5:34
19	10.2	7:22	5:33
20	10.2	7:22	5:33
21	10.1	7:23	5:32
22	10.1	7:24	5:31
23	10.1	7:25	5:31
24	10.1	7:25	5:30
25	10.1	7:26	5:30
26	10.0	7:27	5:29
27	10.0	7:27	5:29
28	10.0	7:28	5:28
29	10.0	7:29	5:28
30	10.0	7:29	5:28
31	10.0	7:30	5:27

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 3.26 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.78 kWh/m² to a high of 7.85 kWh/m² in December across the year — May's 3.26 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)	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9
Level	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	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.7	Moderate
2	3.6	Moderate
3	3.6	Moderate
4	3.6	Moderate
5	3.6	Moderate
6	3.5	Moderate
7	3.5	Moderate
8	3.5	Moderate
9	3.5	Moderate
10	3.5	Moderate
11	3.4	Moderate
12	3.4	Moderate
13	3.4	Moderate
14	3.4	Moderate
15	3.3	Moderate
16	3.3	Moderate
17	3.3	Moderate
18	3.2	Moderate
19	3.2	Moderate
20	3.1	Moderate
21	3.1	Moderate
22	3.1	Moderate
23	3.1	Moderate
24	3.0	Moderate
25	3.0	Moderate
26	3.0	Moderate
27	3.0	Moderate
28	2.9	Moderate
29	2.9	Moderate
30	2.9	Moderate
31	2.9	Moderate

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Oudtshoorn?

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

7.6

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

4.8

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Oudtshoorn in May

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

In May, Oudtshoorn sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 9°C. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 5 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Oudtshoorn in May

The nearest coast averages about 17°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 61 km away) is warmest in January at about 21°C and coldest in August near 16°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Dec 13 to Mar 19 — about 3.2 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	21	21	20	18	17	17	16	16	17	17	19	20
Comfort	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Refreshing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	21	Refreshing
Feb	21	Refreshing
Mar	20	Refreshing
Apr	18	Cool
May	17	Cool
Jun	17	Cool
Jul	16	Cool
Aug	16	Cool
Sep	17	Cool
Oct	17	Cool
Nov	19	Cool
Dec	20	Refreshing

UV index in Oudtshoorn 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 Oudtshoorn peaks around January 15 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	14	11	10	6	4	3	3	5	6	11	12	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	10	Very high
Apr	6	High
May	4	Moderate
Jun	3	Moderate
Jul	3	Moderate
Aug	5	Moderate
Sep	6	High
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Oudtshoorn?

Oudtshoorn sits at 33.6°S, 22.2°E, 319 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Dysselsdorp, 23 km away.

Topography around Oudtshoorn

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Oudtshoorn has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 145 m around an average of 330 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 723 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,272 m.

The land around Oudtshoorn is covered by shrubs (35%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 3 km, shrubs (63%) and grassland (22%) within 16 km, and shrubs (35%) and grassland (32%) within 80 km.

3 km

145 m

shrubs 35%

16 km

723 m

shrubs 63%

80 km

2,272 m

shrubs 35%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Dysselsdorp 23 km · George 47 km · Groot-Brakrivier 49 km · Mossel Bay 65 km · Knysna 92 km · Riversdale 103 km · Plettenberg Bay 119 km · Beaufort West 143 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 Oudtshoorn (-33.6005°, 22.1995°, elevation 319 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	67	33
14	66	34
15	66	34
16	65	35
17	64	36
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	61	39
21	61	39
22	61	39
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	64	36
31	64	36

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	97	3
2	97	3
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
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	23	10
2	22	10
3	22	10
4	22	10
5	22	10
6	22	9
7	22	9
8	22	9
9	22	9
10	22	9
11	22	9
12	22	9
13	22	9
14	22	9
15	22	9
16	22	9
17	22	9
18	21	9
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	8
24	20	8
25	20	8
26	20	7
27	20	7
28	20	7
29	19	7
30	19	7
31	19	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	67	33
14	66	34
15	66	34
16	65	35
17	64	36
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	61	39
21	61	39
22	61	39
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	64	36
31	64	36

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	97	3
2	97	3
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
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	23	10
2	22	10
3	22	10
4	22	10
5	22	10
6	22	9
7	22	9
8	22	9
9	22	9
10	22	9
11	22	9
12	22	9
13	22	9
14	22	9
15	22	9
16	22	9
17	22	9
18	21	9
19	21	8
20	21	8
21	21	8
22	21	8
23	21	8
24	20	8
25	20	8
26	20	7
27	20	7
28	20	7
29	19	7
30	19	7
31	19	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	65	35
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	69	31
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	69	31
12	68	32
13	67	33
14	66	34
15	66	34
16	65	35
17	64	36
18	63	37
19	63	37
20	61	39
21	61	39
22	61	39
23	60	40
24	60	40
25	61	39
26	61	39
27	61	39
28	62	38
29	62	38
30	64	36
31	64	36

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	97	3
2	97	3
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	98	2
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
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