Worcester weather in May

In May, Worcester sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 39 mm of rain across 6.2 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 21°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% 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 Worcester's 11th-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Worcester's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 20°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 39 mm; 6.2 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 18 min; 7:31 AM – 5:46 PM
Cloud cover: 48%; 11th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 3.09 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.0; out of 10

Worcester is town in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Density: 1,743/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1819

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

← April Worcester 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 21°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical May day in Worcester reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 26°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	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7

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

Worcester weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 8th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	29° / 15°	24	5.2	14	6.8
Feb	29° / 16°	21	5	13.3	6.7
Mar	27° / 14°	28	6.2	12.3	7.5
Apr	23° / 12°	33	5.6	11.2	7.8
May	20° / 9°	39	6.2	10.3	7.0
Jun	17° / 6°	60	8.2	9.8	5.6
Jul	16° / 5°	59	8.1	10	5.4
Aug	17° / 6°	51	8.5	10.8	5.7
Sep	19° / 8°	35	6.5	11.8	6.7
Oct	22° / 10°	36	6	12.8	7.6
Nov	25° / 12°	35	6.1	13.7	7.8
Dec	27° / 14°	24	5	14.2	7.6

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 39%. Skies tend to cloud over 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 (%)	64	64	64	65	65	65	65	64	64	65	65	64	64	64	63	63	62	61	60	60	59	58	57	57	57	56	56	57	57	57	57
Cloudier (%)	36	36	36	35	35	35	35	36	36	35	35	36	36	36	37	37	38	39	40	40	41	42	43	43	43	44	44	43	43	43	43

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	65	35
5	65	35
6	65	35
7	65	35
8	64	36
9	64	36
10	65	35
11	65	35
12	64	36
13	64	36
14	64	36
15	63	37
16	63	37
17	62	38
18	61	39
19	60	40
20	60	40
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	56	44
27	56	44
28	57	43
29	57	43
30	57	43
31	57	43

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Worcester gets around 39 mm of rain over 6.2 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 20% and peaks near 28% on the wettest days. The odds climb 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 (%)	19	18	18	18	17	17	17	17	16	16	16	16	16	16	17	17	18	19	19	20	21	22	23	24	24	25	26	26	27	27	28

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

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	99	99	99	99	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 (%)	2	2	1	1	1	1	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	98	2
2	98	2
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
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 7 km/h in May, the calmest month.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 7 km/h on the calmest days to 7 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)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
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	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	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 7:19 AM to 7:41 AM, and sunset from 6:00 PM to 5:38 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	10.6	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	10.2	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)	7:19	7:20	7:21	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28	7:28	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:34	7:35	7:36	7:36	7:37	7:38	7:38	7:39	7:40	7:40	7:41
Sunset (PM)	6:00	5:59	5:58	5:57	5:56	5:55	5:54	5:53	5:52	5:51	5:50	5:49	5:49	5:48	5:47	5:46	5:46	5:45	5:44	5:44	5:43	5:42	5:42	5:41	5:41	5:40	5:40	5:39	5:39	5:39	5:38

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	10.7	7:19	6:00
2	10.6	7:20	5:59
3	10.6	7:21	5:58
4	10.6	7:21	5:57
5	10.6	7:22	5:56
6	10.5	7:23	5:55
7	10.5	7:24	5:54
8	10.5	7:24	5:53
9	10.4	7:25	5:52
10	10.4	7:26	5:51
11	10.4	7:27	5:50
12	10.4	7:28	5:49
13	10.3	7:28	5:49
14	10.3	7:29	5:48
15	10.3	7:30	5:47
16	10.3	7:31	5:46
17	10.2	7:31	5:46
18	10.2	7:32	5:45
19	10.2	7:33	5:44
20	10.2	7:34	5:44
21	10.1	7:34	5:43
22	10.1	7:35	5:42
23	10.1	7:36	5:42
24	10.1	7:36	5:41
25	10.1	7:37	5:41
26	10.0	7:38	5:40
27	10.0	7:38	5:40
28	10.0	7:39	5:39
29	10.0	7:40	5:39
30	10.0	7:40	5:39
31	10.0	7:41	5:38

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 3.09 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.54 kWh/m² to a high of 8.03 kWh/m² in January across the year — May's 3.09 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)	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
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	3.6	Moderate
2	3.6	Moderate
3	3.5	Moderate
4	3.5	Moderate
5	3.5	Moderate
6	3.4	Moderate
7	3.4	Moderate
8	3.4	Moderate
9	3.4	Moderate
10	3.3	Moderate
11	3.3	Moderate
12	3.3	Moderate
13	3.2	Moderate
14	3.2	Moderate
15	3.2	Moderate
16	3.1	Moderate
17	3.1	Moderate
18	3.0	Moderate
19	3.0	Moderate
20	3.0	Moderate
21	2.9	Moderate
22	2.9	Moderate
23	2.9	Moderate
24	2.8	Moderate
25	2.8	Moderate
26	2.8	Moderate
27	2.7	Moderate
28	2.7	Moderate
29	2.7	Moderate
30	2.7	Moderate
31	2.7	Moderate

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Worcester?

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

7.0

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

3.7

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Worcester in May

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

In May, Worcester sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 9°C. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 6 days see rain.

UV index in Worcester 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 Worcester peaks around January 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 20 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	10	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	10	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

Air quality in Worcester 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 Worcester is worst in June — around 41 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 3.8× the cleanest month (December, 11 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	15	19	29	38	41	40	36	28	18	12	11
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	14	Moderate
Feb	15	Moderate
Mar	19	Moderate
Apr	29	Moderate
May	38	Poor
Jun	41	Poor
Jul	40	Poor
Aug	36	Poor
Sep	28	Moderate
Oct	18	Moderate
Nov	12	Good
Dec	11	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Worcester?

Worcester sits at 33.6°S, 19.4°E, 234 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Ceres, 33 km away.

Topography around Worcester

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Worcester has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 172 m around an average of 238 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,796 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,250 m.

The land around Worcester is covered by artificial surfaces (45%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, shrubs (41%) and grassland (29%) within 16 km, and grassland (42%), shrubs (27%) and cropland (22%) within 80 km.

3 km

172 m

artificial surfaces 45%

16 km

1,796 m

shrubs 41%

80 km

2,250 m

grassland 42%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Ceres 33 km · Wellington 40 km · Le Roux 42 km · Franschhoek 42 km · Robertson 44 km · Paarl 45 km · Ashton 60 km · Stellenbosch 63 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 Worcester (-33.6465°, 19.4485°, elevation 234 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	21	10
2	21	10
3	21	10
4	21	10
5	21	10
6	21	10
7	21	10
8	21	10
9	21	10
10	21	10
11	21	10
12	21	10
13	21	10
14	21	9
15	21	9
16	20	9
17	20	9
18	20	9
19	20	9
20	20	9
21	20	9
22	19	9
23	19	9
24	19	8
25	19	8
26	18	8
27	18	8
28	18	8
29	18	8
30	18	8
31	18	7

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	65	35
5	65	35
6	65	35
7	65	35
8	64	36
9	64	36
10	65	35
11	65	35
12	64	36
13	64	36
14	64	36
15	63	37
16	63	37
17	62	38
18	61	39
19	60	40
20	60	40
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	56	44
27	56	44
28	57	43
29	57	43
30	57	43
31	57	43

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	65	35
5	65	35
6	65	35
7	65	35
8	64	36
9	64	36
10	65	35
11	65	35
12	64	36
13	64	36
14	64	36
15	63	37
16	63	37
17	62	38
18	61	39
19	60	40
20	60	40
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	56	44
27	56	44
28	57	43
29	57	43
30	57	43
31	57	43

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	65	35
5	65	35
6	65	35
7	65	35
8	64	36
9	64	36
10	65	35
11	65	35
12	64	36
13	64	36
14	64	36
15	63	37
16	63	37
17	62	38
18	61	39
19	60	40
20	60	40
21	59	41
22	58	42
23	57	43
24	57	43
25	57	43
26	56	44
27	56	44
28	57	43
29	57	43
30	57	43
31	57	43

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	98	2
2	98	2
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
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