Somerset East weather in May

In May, Somerset East sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 22 mm of rain across 4.8 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 20°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% 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 Somerset East's 4th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Somerset East's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 8°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 22 mm; 4.8 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 18 min; 7:04 AM – 5:24 PM
Cloud cover: 39%; 4th clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 3.37 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.7; out of 10

Somerset East is town in South Africa.

Founded: 1825

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

← April Somerset East 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 20°C by the end.

A typical May day in Somerset East reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 13°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 27°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)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20
Avg low (°C)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	22	9
2	22	9
3	22	9
4	22	9
5	22	9
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	21	8
25	21	8
26	20	8
27	20	7
28	20	7
29	20	7
30	20	7
31	20	7

Somerset East weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 15°	76	10.3	13.9	6.2
Feb	28° / 15°	73	10.2	13.2	6.3
Mar	26° / 14°	73	10	12.2	6.9
Apr	23° / 11°	47	7.6	11.2	7.4
May	21° / 8°	22	4.8	10.3	7.7
Jun	19° / 6°	23	4.6	9.9	7.3
Jul	19° / 5°	23	3.8	10.1	7.5
Aug	20° / 6°	31	5.3	10.8	7.4
Sep	22° / 8°	32	5.1	11.8	7.7
Oct	24° / 10°	55	8.7	12.8	7.3
Nov	25° / 12°	67	9	13.7	7.1
Dec	27° / 14°	70	9.9	14.1	6.7

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 55% 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 31%.

	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 (%)	68	68	68	69	69	69	69	70	69	69	70	70	69	69	69	68	68	68	68	67	68	68	69	69	70	70	70	71	71	72	73
Cloudier (%)	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	30	31	31	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	32	32	31	31	30	30	30	29	29	28	27

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	68	32
2	68	32
3	68	32
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	70	30
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	70	30
12	70	30
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	70	30
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	72	28
31	73	27

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Somerset East gets around 22 mm of rain over 4.8 wet days in May, the driest month. 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 19% 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 (%)	19	19	18	18	17	17	17	17	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

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

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	98	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
Comfortable (%)	3	2	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

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

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 11 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	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11
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	10	calm
14	10	calm
15	10	calm
16	10	calm
17	10	calm
18	10	calm
19	10	calm
20	10	calm
21	10	calm
22	10	calm
23	10	calm
24	10	calm
25	10	calm
26	10	calm
27	11	calm
28	11	calm
29	11	calm
30	11	calm
31	11	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 6:53 AM to 7:14 AM, and sunset from 5:37 PM to 5:16 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	10.7	10.6	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	10.3	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.2	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.0	10.0
Sunrise (AM)	6:53	6:54	6:55	6:55	6:56	6:57	6:58	6:58	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	7:12	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:14
Sunset (PM)	5:37	5:36	5:35	5:34	5:33	5:32	5:31	5:30	5:29	5:28	5:27	5:27	5:26	5:25	5:24	5:24	5:23	5:22	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:20	5:19	5:19	5:18	5:18	5:17	5:17	5:16	5:16	5:16

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.7	6:53	5:37
2	10.7	6:54	5:36
3	10.7	6:55	5:35
4	10.6	6:55	5:34
5	10.6	6:56	5:33
6	10.6	6:57	5:32
7	10.6	6:58	5:31
8	10.5	6:58	5:30
9	10.5	6:59	5:29
10	10.5	7:00	5:28
11	10.4	7:01	5:27
12	10.4	7:01	5:27
13	10.4	7:02	5:26
14	10.4	7:03	5:25
15	10.3	7:03	5:24
16	10.3	7:04	5:24
17	10.3	7:05	5:23
18	10.3	7:06	5:22
19	10.3	7:06	5:22
20	10.2	7:07	5:21
21	10.2	7:08	5:20
22	10.2	7:08	5:20
23	10.2	7:09	5:19
24	10.1	7:10	5:19
25	10.1	7:10	5:18
26	10.1	7:11	5:18
27	10.1	7:12	5:17
28	10.1	7:12	5:17
29	10.1	7:13	5:16
30	10.0	7:14	5:16
31	10.0	7:14	5:16

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 3.37 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.94 kWh/m² to a high of 7.16 kWh/m² in December across the year — May's 3.37 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	3.7	3.7	3.6	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	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1
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	3.7	Moderate
3	3.7	Moderate
4	3.6	Moderate
5	3.6	Moderate
6	3.6	Moderate
7	3.6	Moderate
8	3.6	Moderate
9	3.5	Moderate
10	3.5	Moderate
11	3.5	Moderate
12	3.5	Moderate
13	3.5	Moderate
14	3.4	Moderate
15	3.4	Moderate
16	3.4	Moderate
17	3.4	Moderate
18	3.3	Moderate
19	3.3	Moderate
20	3.3	Moderate
21	3.3	Moderate
22	3.2	Moderate
23	3.2	Moderate
24	3.2	Moderate
25	3.2	Moderate
26	3.1	Moderate
27	3.1	Moderate
28	3.1	Moderate
29	3.1	Moderate
30	3.1	Moderate
31	3.1	Moderate

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Somerset East?

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

7.7

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

4.8

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Somerset East in May

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

In May, Somerset East sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 8°C. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 5 days see rain.

UV index in Somerset East 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 Somerset East peaks around January 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 23 at about 3 (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)	14	12	10	6	5	3	3	5	7	11	12	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	14	Extreme
Feb	12	Extreme
Mar	10	Very high
Apr	6	High
May	5	Moderate
Jun	3	Moderate
Jul	3	Moderate
Aug	5	Moderate
Sep	7	High
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Air quality in Somerset East 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 Somerset East is worst in June — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.7× the cleanest month (January, 6 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)	6	6	8	11	16	16	16	16	14	11	7	6
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	6	Good
Feb	6	Good
Mar	8	Good
Apr	11	Good
May	16	Moderate
Jun	16	Moderate
Jul	16	Moderate
Aug	16	Moderate
Sep	14	Moderate
Oct	11	Good
Nov	7	Good
Dec	6	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Somerset East?

Somerset East sits at 32.7°S, 25.6°E, 748 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Cradock, 62 km away.

Topography around Somerset East

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Somerset East has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 793 m around an average of 837 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,030 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,066 m.

The land around Somerset East is covered by trees (38%) and grassland (28%) within 3 km, grassland (62%) and shrubs (23%) within 16 km, and grassland (70%) and shrubs (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

793 m

trees 38%

16 km

1,030 m

grassland 62%

80 km

2,066 m

grassland 70%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

May weather nearby: Cradock 62 km · Fort Beaufort 98 km · Grahamstown 109 km · Graaff Reinet 112 km · Kariega 116 km · Alice 117 km · Whittlesea 131 km · Port Elizabeth 138 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 Somerset East (-32.7217°, 25.588°, elevation 748 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	22	9
2	22	9
3	22	9
4	22	9
5	22	9
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	21	8
25	21	8
26	20	8
27	20	7
28	20	7
29	20	7
30	20	7
31	20	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	68	32
2	68	32
3	68	32
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	70	30
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	70	30
12	70	30
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	70	30
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	72	28
31	73	27

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	97	3
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
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	22	9
2	22	9
3	22	9
4	22	9
5	22	9
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	21	8
25	21	8
26	20	8
27	20	7
28	20	7
29	20	7
30	20	7
31	20	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	68	32
2	68	32
3	68	32
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	70	30
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	70	30
12	70	30
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	70	30
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	72	28
31	73	27

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	97	3
2	98	2
3	98	2
4	98	2
5	98	2
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
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	22	9
2	22	9
3	22	9
4	22	9
5	22	9
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	21	8
25	21	8
26	20	8
27	20	7
28	20	7
29	20	7
30	20	7
31	20	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	68	32
2	68	32
3	68	32
4	69	31
5	69	31
6	69	31
7	69	31
8	70	30
9	69	31
10	69	31
11	70	30
12	70	30
13	69	31
14	69	31
15	69	31
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	68	32
19	68	32
20	67	33
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	70	30
26	70	30
27	70	30
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	72	28
31	73	27

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

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