Darwen weather in May

In May, Darwen sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 80 mm of rain across 13.6 wet days and about 15.6 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 16°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 42 min at the start of May to 16 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Darwen's 1st-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Darwen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
15°
5th warmest
Overnight low
7th coldest
Rainfall
80 mm
13.6 wet days
Daylight
15 h 42 min
4:16 AM – 7:56 PM
Cloud cover
70%
1st clearest
Wind
15 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
5 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.9
out of 10

Darwen is market town in Lancashire, UK.

Density
4,296/km²
people per km²

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 13°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical May day in Darwen reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 20°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 2°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1136
2136
3136
4146
5146
6146
7146
8146
9146
10147
11147
12147
13147
14147
15147
16147
17157
18157
19158
20158
21158
22158
23158
24158
25158
26168
27168
28169
29169
30169
31169

How May really feels in Darwen

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.

Darwen weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 10316.32.37.80.5
Feb / 89142.49.40.7
Mar / 8413.81.611.51.5
Apr12° / 7513.60.513.72.7
May15° / 8013.6015.63.9
Jun17° / 10°9114.3016.74.7
Jul19° / 12°9915.9016.35.1
Aug18° / 12°10816.4014.64.9
Sep16° / 10°9113.6012.54.4
Oct13° / 10815.40.110.33.0
Nov / 10716.40.58.31.5
Dec / 11916.21.67.30.7

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13169
23268
33268
43268
53367
63367
73466
83367
93367
103268
113268
123268
133268
143169
153169
163070
173070
183070
193070
203070
212971
223070
233070
243070
253169
263169
273169
283070
293070
303070
312971

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Darwen gets around 80 mm of rain over 13.6 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 45% and peaks near 46% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
146
246
346
446
545
645
745
845
945
1045
1145
1245
1345
1445
1545
1645
1744
1844
1944
2044
2144
2244
2344
2444
2545
2645
2745
2845
2945
3045
3146

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 98% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
31000
41000
51000
61000
71000
8991
9991
10991
11991
12991
13991
14991
15991
16982
17982
18982
19982
20973
21973
22973
23973
24964
25964
26964
27964
28955
29955
30955
31955

Wind in May

Winds average 15 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 42 min at the start of May to 16 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 102 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:45 AM to 3:56 AM, and sunset from 7:30 PM to 8:18 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.74:457:30
214.84:437:31
314.94:407:33
414.94:387:35
515.04:367:37
615.14:347:39
715.14:327:40
815.24:317:42
915.34:297:44
1015.34:277:46
1115.44:257:47
1215.44:237:49
1315.54:217:51
1415.64:207:53
1515.64:187:54
1615.74:167:56
1715.74:157:58
1815.84:137:59
1915.84:118:01
2015.94:108:03
2115.94:088:04
2216.04:078:06
2316.04:068:07
2416.14:048:09
2516.14:038:10
2616.24:028:12
2716.24:008:13
2816.33:598:14
2916.33:588:16
3016.33:578:17
3116.43:568:18

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.49 kWh/m² to a high of 5.07 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.7Bright
24.7Bright
34.8Bright
44.8Bright
54.8Bright
64.8Bright
74.9Bright
84.9Bright
94.9Bright
104.9Bright
114.9Bright
125.0Bright
135.0Bright
145.0Bright
155.0Bright
165.0Bright
175.0Bright
185.0Bright
195.0Bright
205.0Bright
215.0Bright
225.0Bright
235.0Bright
245.0Bright
255.0Bright
265.0Bright
275.0Bright
285.0Bright
295.0Bright
305.1Bright
315.1Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Darwen?

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

3.9
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.1
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Darwen.

What to pack for Darwen in May

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

In May, Darwen sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Darwen in May

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 44 km away) is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in February near 6°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug17Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct14Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Darwen 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 Darwen peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Darwen?

Darwen sits at 53.7°N, 2.5°W, 172 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Blackburn, 6.0 km away.

Topography around Darwen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Darwen has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 290 m around an average of 229 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 474 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 733 m.

The land around Darwen is covered by grassland (57%) and trees (24%) within 3 km, grassland (57%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (54%) within 80 km.

3 km
290 m
16 km
474 m
80 km
733 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Blackburn 6.0 km · Haslingden 9.0 km · Accrington 9.0 km · Ramsbottom 11 km · Chorley 11 km · Rawtenstall 12 km · Horwich 12 km · Rossendale 12 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 2%

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 Darwen (53.698°, -2.4649°, elevation 172 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).