Santander weather in May

In May, Santander sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 86 mm of rain across 14.1 wet days and about 14.5 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Santander's 7th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Santander's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 17°; 6th warmest
Overnight low: 13°; 7th coldest
Rainfall: 86 mm; 14.1 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 30 min; 5:57 AM – 8:26 PM
Cloud cover: 64%; 7th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 5.75 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.0; out of 10

Santander is city in Spain.

Air quality: Good; PM10 22.5 µg/m³ · 2019

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

← April Santander 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 climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical May day in Santander reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 2°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler 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)	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19
Avg low (°C)	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

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

Santander weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 6th-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	12° / 8°	115	14.6	9.1	2.8
Feb	12° / 8°	103	12.9	10.2	2.9
Mar	14° / 9°	104	12.9	11.6	3.6
Apr	15° / 10°	103	14.8	13.2	3.9
May	17° / 13°	86	14.1	14.5	5.0
Jun	20° / 16°	68	10.9	15.2	6.1
Jul	22° / 18°	54	10.3	14.9	6.7
Aug	23° / 18°	60	10.3	13.8	6.9
Sep	21° / 17°	78	11.3	12.3	6.3
Oct	19° / 14°	109	13.3	10.8	5.5
Nov	15° / 11°	150	15.8	9.5	3.9
Dec	13° / 9°	114	13.9	8.8	3.2

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% 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 62%.

	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 (%)	34	32	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	34	33	35	35	36	36	37	38	39	40	41	41	43	43	43	44	44	43	43	43	42	41
Cloudier (%)	66	68	68	68	68	68	68	67	67	66	67	65	65	64	64	63	62	61	60	59	59	57	57	57	56	56	57	57	57	58	59

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	34	66
11	33	67
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	39	61
19	40	60
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	43	57
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	43	57
28	43	57
29	43	57
30	42	58
31	41	59

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Santander gets around 86 mm of rain over 14.1 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 46% and peaks near 50% 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 (%)	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	49	49	48	48	47	47	46	46	45	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	42	42	42	42	42	42	42	42

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	50
6	50
7	50
8	49
9	49
10	48
11	48
12	47
13	47
14	46
15	46
16	45
17	45
18	44
19	44
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	43
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	42
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

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 68% 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 (%)	88	87	85	84	83	82	80	80	79	78	77	76	75	74	73	72	70	69	68	65	63	62	59	57	54	52	50	48	46	45	44
Comfortable (%)	12	13	15	16	17	18	20	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	33	34	35	37	38	40	41	42	43	44	44	45
Humid (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	3	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	88	12	0
2	87	13	0
3	85	15	0
4	84	16	0
5	83	17	0
6	82	18	0
7	80	20	0
8	80	20	0
9	79	21	0
10	78	22	0
11	77	23	0
12	76	24	0
13	75	25	0
14	74	26	0
15	73	27	0
16	72	28	0
17	70	29	1
18	69	30	1
19	68	31	1
20	65	33	2
21	63	34	3
22	62	35	3
23	59	37	4
24	57	38	5
25	54	40	6
26	52	41	7
27	50	42	8
28	48	43	9
29	46	44	10
30	45	44	11
31	44	45	12

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 12 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)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	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	12	light breeze
2	12	light breeze
3	12	light breeze
4	12	light breeze
5	12	light breeze
6	12	light breeze
7	12	light breeze
8	12	light breeze
9	12	light breeze
10	12	light breeze
11	12	calm
12	12	calm
13	12	calm
14	12	calm
15	12	calm
16	12	calm
17	12	calm
18	12	calm
19	12	calm
20	12	calm
21	12	calm
22	12	calm
23	12	calm
24	12	calm
25	11	calm
26	11	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 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 6:16 AM to 5:44 AM, and sunset from 8:09 PM to 8:41 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)	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	15.0
Sunrise (AM)	6:16	6:14	6:13	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:07	6:06	6:05	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:00	5:59	5:58	5:57	5:55	5:54	5:53	5:52	5:52	5:51	5:50	5:49	5:48	5:47	5:47	5:46	5:45	5:45	5:44
Sunset (PM)	8:09	8:10	8:12	8:13	8:14	8:15	8:16	8:17	8:19	8:20	8:21	8:22	8:23	8:24	8:25	8:26	8:28	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:40	8:40	8:41

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.9	6:16	8:09
2	13.9	6:14	8:10
3	14.0	6:13	8:12
4	14.0	6:11	8:13
5	14.1	6:10	8:14
6	14.1	6:09	8:15
7	14.1	6:07	8:16
8	14.2	6:06	8:17
9	14.2	6:05	8:19
10	14.3	6:03	8:20
11	14.3	6:02	8:21
12	14.3	6:01	8:22
13	14.4	6:00	8:23
14	14.4	5:59	8:24
15	14.5	5:58	8:25
16	14.5	5:57	8:26
17	14.5	5:55	8:28
18	14.6	5:54	8:29
19	14.6	5:53	8:30
20	14.6	5:52	8:31
21	14.7	5:52	8:32
22	14.7	5:51	8:33
23	14.7	5:50	8:34
24	14.8	5:49	8:35
25	14.8	5:48	8:36
26	14.8	5:47	8:37
27	14.9	5:47	8:38
28	14.9	5:46	8:39
29	14.9	5:45	8:40
30	14.9	5:45	8:40
31	15.0	5:44	8:41

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.75 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.43 kWh/m² to a high of 6.1 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.75 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
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	5.3	Bright
2	5.3	Bright
3	5.3	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.4	Bright
6	5.4	Bright
7	5.4	Bright
8	5.5	Bright
9	5.5	Bright
10	5.5	Bright
11	5.6	Bright
12	5.6	Bright
13	5.6	Bright
14	5.7	Bright
15	5.7	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.8	Bright
19	5.8	Bright
20	5.9	Bright
21	5.9	Bright
22	5.9	Bright
23	6.0	Bright
24	6.0	Bright
25	6.0	Bright
26	6.0	Bright
27	6.0	Bright
28	6.0	Bright
29	6.0	Bright
30	6.0	Bright
31	6.0	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Santander?

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

5.0

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

1.3

Beach & pool

6th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Santander for sightseeing.

What to pack for Santander in May

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

In May, Santander sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 13°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Santander in May

The nearest coast averages about 15°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 19 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in February near 13°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 13 to Sep 21 — about 2.3 months when the water holds above 20°C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	13	13	13	13	15	18	20	22	20	18	16	14
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool	Refreshing	Refreshing	Refreshing	Cool	Cool	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	13	Bracing
Feb	13	Bracing
Mar	13	Bracing
Apr	13	Bracing
May	15	Cool
Jun	18	Cool
Jul	20	Refreshing
Aug	22	Refreshing
Sep	20	Refreshing
Oct	18	Cool
Nov	16	Cool
Dec	14	Bracing

UV index in Santander 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 Santander peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	2	5	6	6	8	8	8	5	4	2	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	2	Low
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	6	High
Jun	8	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	5	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Santander?

Santander sits at 43.5°N, 3.8°W, 1 m above sea level, in Spain. The nearest listed city is El Astillero, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Santander

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santander has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 82 m around an average of 18 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 562 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,293 m.

The land around Santander is covered by water (38%), artificial surfaces (32%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, water (49%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and water (38%), trees (32%) and grassland (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

82 m

water 38%

16 km

562 m

water 49%

80 km

2,293 m

water 38%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: El Astillero 7.0 km · Camargo 9.0 km · Torrelavega 24 km · Castro-Urdiales 48 km · Santurtzi 64 km · Getxo 65 km · Portugalete 65 km · Algorta 66 km

Spain travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / F; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 65% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $38,627; 2025
Happiness: 6.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 99%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 0.7; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 3.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 540
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 Santander (43.4659°, -3.8049°, elevation 1 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	16	11
2	16	11
3	16	11
4	16	12
5	16	12
6	16	12
7	16	12
8	16	12
9	16	12
10	17	12
11	17	12
12	17	12
13	17	12
14	17	13
15	17	13
16	17	13
17	17	13
18	17	13
19	17	13
20	18	13
21	18	13
22	18	13
23	18	13
24	18	14
25	18	14
26	18	14
27	18	14
28	18	14
29	18	14
30	18	14
31	19	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	34	66
11	33	67
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	39	61
19	40	60
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	43	57
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	43	57
28	43	57
29	43	57
30	42	58
31	41	59

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	50
6	50
7	50
8	49
9	49
10	48
11	48
12	47
13	47
14	46
15	46
16	45
17	45
18	44
19	44
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	43
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	42
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	88	12	0
2	87	13	0
3	85	15	0
4	84	16	0
5	83	17	0
6	82	18	0
7	80	20	0
8	80	20	0
9	79	21	0
10	78	22	0
11	77	23	0
12	76	24	0
13	75	25	0
14	74	26	0
15	73	27	0
16	72	28	0
17	70	29	1
18	69	30	1
19	68	31	1
20	65	33	2
21	63	34	3
22	62	35	3
23	59	37	4
24	57	38	5
25	54	40	6
26	52	41	7
27	50	42	8
28	48	43	9
29	46	44	10
30	45	44	11
31	44	45	12

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	34	66
11	33	67
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	39	61
19	40	60
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	43	57
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	43	57
28	43	57
29	43	57
30	42	58
31	41	59

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	50
6	50
7	50
8	49
9	49
10	48
11	48
12	47
13	47
14	46
15	46
16	45
17	45
18	44
19	44
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	43
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	42
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	88	12	0
2	87	13	0
3	85	15	0
4	84	16	0
5	83	17	0
6	82	18	0
7	80	20	0
8	80	20	0
9	79	21	0
10	78	22	0
11	77	23	0
12	76	24	0
13	75	25	0
14	74	26	0
15	73	27	0
16	72	28	0
17	70	29	1
18	69	30	1
19	68	31	1
20	65	33	2
21	63	34	3
22	62	35	3
23	59	37	4
24	57	38	5
25	54	40	6
26	52	41	7
27	50	42	8
28	48	43	9
29	46	44	10
30	45	44	11
31	44	45	12

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	32	68
7	32	68
8	33	67
9	33	67
10	34	66
11	33	67
12	35	65
13	35	65
14	36	64
15	36	64
16	37	63
17	38	62
18	39	61
19	40	60
20	41	59
21	41	59
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	43	57
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	43	57
28	43	57
29	43	57
30	42	58
31	41	59

	Rain chance (%)
1	50
2	50
3	50
4	50
5	50
6	50
7	50
8	49
9	49
10	48
11	48
12	47
13	47
14	46
15	46
16	45
17	45
18	44
19	44
20	44
21	43
22	43
23	43
24	42
25	42
26	42
27	42
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	88	12	0
2	87	13	0
3	85	15	0
4	84	16	0
5	83	17	0
6	82	18	0
7	80	20	0
8	80	20	0
9	79	21	0
10	78	22	0
11	77	23	0
12	76	24	0
13	75	25	0
14	74	26	0
15	73	27	0
16	72	28	0
17	70	29	1
18	69	30	1
19	68	31	1
20	65	33	2
21	63	34	3
22	62	35	3
23	59	37	4
24	57	38	5
25	54	40	6
26	52	41	7
27	50	42	8
28	48	43	9
29	46	44	10
30	45	44	11
31	44	45	12