Saint Gallen weather in May

In May, Saint Gallen sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 155 mm of precipitation across 17.2 wet days and about 14.9 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 12 min at the start of May to 15 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Saint Gallen's 7th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Saint Gallen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
17°
5th warmest
Overnight low
10°
8th coldest
Precipitation
155 mm
17.2 wet days
Daylight
14 h 54 min
4:52 AM – 7:45 PM
Cloud cover
65%
7th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
5.2 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.6
out of 10

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 19°C by the end.

A typical May day in Saint Gallen reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 4°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°20°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1168
2168
3168
4168
5168
6169
7169
8169
9169
10179
11179
12179
13179
141710
151710
161710
171710
181710
191810
201810
211810
221810
231811
241811
251811
261911
271911
281911
291911
301912
311912

How May really feels in Saint Gallen

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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
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.

Saint Gallen weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°8812.78.48.70.0
Feb / -2°8011.78.39.90.1
Mar / 10014.86.611.61.6
Apr13° / 10314.53.313.33.2
May17° / 10°15517.20.314.94.6
Jun21° / 13°17217.4015.75.3
Jul23° / 15°17417.5015.45.7
Aug22° / 15°17516.8014.15.8
Sep18° / 11°12713.7012.45.2
Oct13° / 10312.90.910.63.4
Nov / 10312.74.89.11.0
Dec / -1°10514.18.68.30.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 62%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33565
43466
53466
63565
73565
83565
93565
103565
113565
123664
133664
143763
153763
163763
173862
183862
193961
203961
213961
224060
234060
244060
254060
264060
274060
283961
293961
303961
313961

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Saint Gallen gets around 155 mm of rain and snow over 17.2 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 56% and peaks near 58% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1553
2563
3572
4572
5582
6582
7582
8582
9582
10581
11581
12581
13581
14571
15571
16571
17561
18551
19551
20541
21540
22530
23530
24530
25520
26530
27530
28530
29540
30550
31550

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 93% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
19910
29910
39910
49910
59910
69910
79910
89910
99820
109820
119820
129820
139820
149730
159730
169640
179550
189550
199460
209280
219190
2290100
2389110
2487130
2586140
2684151
2782171
2881181
2979201
3077212
3176222

Wind in May

Winds average 7 km/h in May.

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.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 12 min at the start of May to 15 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:14 AM to 4:37 AM, and sunset from 7:25 PM to 8:03 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.25:147:25
214.25:137:26
314.35:117:28
414.35:097:29
514.45:087:31
614.45:067:32
714.55:057:33
814.55:037:35
914.65:027:36
1014.65:007:37
1114.74:597:39
1214.74:577:40
1314.84:567:41
1414.84:557:43
1514.84:537:44
1614.94:527:45
1714.94:517:47
1815.04:507:48
1915.04:497:49
2015.04:477:50
2115.14:467:52
2215.14:457:53
2315.24:447:54
2415.24:437:55
2515.24:427:56
2615.34:417:57
2715.34:407:58
2815.34:407:59
2915.44:398:01
3015.44:388:02
3115.44:378:03

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.2 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.04 kWh/m² to a high of 5.52 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.2 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.9Bright
24.9Bright
34.9Bright
44.9Bright
54.9Bright
65.0Bright
75.0Bright
85.0Bright
95.0Bright
105.0Bright
115.0Bright
125.1Bright
135.1Bright
145.1Bright
155.2Bright
165.2Bright
175.2Bright
185.3Bright
195.3Bright
205.3Bright
215.3Bright
225.3Bright
235.4Bright
245.4Bright
255.4Bright
265.4Bright
275.4Bright
285.4Bright
295.4Bright
305.4Bright
315.4Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Saint Gallen?

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

4.6
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
1.3
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Saint Gallen for sightseeing.

What to pack for Saint Gallen in May

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

In May, Saint Gallen sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 17 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Saint Gallen in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Saint Gallen peaks around July 15 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Saint Gallen?

Saint Gallen sits at 47.4°N, 9.4°E, 684 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Herisau, 8.0 km away.

LustenauHohenemsWilFeldkirchLindauFriedrichshafen

Topography around Saint Gallen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Saint Gallen has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 478 m around an average of 741 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,390 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,244 m.

The land around Saint Gallen is covered by trees (54%) and grassland (27%) within 3 km, grassland (46%) and trees (36%) within 16 km, and trees (41%) and grassland (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
478 m
16 km
1,390 m
80 km
3,244 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
May weather nearby: Herisau 8.0 km · Gossau 9.0 km · Lustenau 21 km · Hohenems 25 km · Wil 25 km · Feldkirch 27 km · Lindau 27 km · Friedrichshafen 27 km

Switzerland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / J
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 112% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$114,769
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 564
Religion
Roman Catholic 34%none 29%Protestant 23%other Christian 6%

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 Saint Gallen (47.4239°, 9.3748°, elevation 684 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).