Dover weather in May

In May, Dover sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 50 mm of rain across 9.9 wet days and about 15.3 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 16°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 15 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Dover's 4th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dover's year-round climate.

Daytime high
15°
5th warmest
Overnight low
10°
7th coldest
Rainfall
50 mm
9.9 wet days
Daylight
15 h 18 min
4:12 AM – 7:30 PM
Cloud cover
64%
4th clearest
Wind
18 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.7 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.4
out of 10

Dover is town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England.

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 14°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical May day in Dover reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 10°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1139
2139
3149
4149
5149
6149
7149
8149
9149
10149
11149
121410
131510
141510
151510
161510
171510
181510
191510
201510
211510
221611
231611
241611
251611
261611
271611
281611
291611
301611
311611

How May really feels in Dover

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.

Dover weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 58120.88.21.0
Feb / 461019.61.1
Mar / 419.80.411.52.0
Apr12° / 429.8013.53.1
May15° / 10°509.9015.34.4
Jun18° / 13°519.5016.25.7
Jul20° / 15°5310.6015.96.3
Aug21° / 15°5910014.46.3
Sep18° / 13°509.6012.45.7
Oct15° / 10°6811.6010.44.1
Nov11° / 6712.20.18.72.4
Dec / 66120.77.81.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% 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 61%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13763
23763
33862
43862
53862
63961
74060
84060
94060
104060
114159
124159
134159
144060
154060
164060
174060
184060
194159
204060
213961
223961
234060
244060
253961
263862
273862
283862
293862
303862
313763

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Dover gets around 50 mm of rain over 9.9 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 33% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
135
235
334
433
533
632
732
831
931
1031
1131
1231
1331
1432
1532
1632
1732
1832
1933
2033
2133
2233
2333
2433
2533
2634
2734
2834
2934
3034
3134

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
59820
69820
79820
89820
99730
109730
119730
129640
139640
149640
159550
169550
179550
189460
199370
209370
219280
229190
239190
2490100
2589110
2688120
2787130
2886140
2984151
3083161
3183161

Wind in May

Winds average 18 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 18 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
118light breeze
218light breeze
318light breeze
418light breeze
518light breeze
618light breeze
718light breeze
818light breeze
918light breeze
1018light breeze
1118light breeze
1218light breeze
1318light breeze
1418light breeze
1518light breeze
1618light breeze
1717light breeze
1817light breeze
1917light breeze
2017light breeze
2117light breeze
2217light breeze
2317light breeze
2417light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 30 min at the start of May to 15 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:37 AM to 3:54 AM, and sunset from 7:07 PM to 7:50 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.54:377:07
214.64:357:08
314.64:337:10
414.74:317:12
514.74:307:13
614.84:287:15
714.84:267:17
814.94:247:18
915.04:237:20
1015.04:217:21
1115.14:197:23
1215.14:187:24
1315.24:167:26
1415.24:157:27
1515.34:137:29
1615.34:127:30
1715.44:107:32
1815.44:097:33
1915.54:077:35
2015.54:067:36
2115.64:057:38
2215.64:037:39
2315.64:027:40
2415.74:017:42
2515.74:007:43
2615.83:597:44
2715.83:587:46
2815.83:577:47
2915.93:567:48
3015.93:557:49
3115.93:547:50

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.7 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.7 kWh/m² to a high of 6.03 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.7 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.3Bright
25.3Bright
35.3Bright
45.4Bright
55.4Bright
65.5Bright
75.5Bright
85.5Bright
95.5Bright
105.6Bright
115.6Bright
125.6Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.7Bright
165.7Bright
175.7Bright
185.7Bright
195.8Bright
205.8Bright
215.8Bright
225.8Bright
235.8Bright
245.8Bright
255.8Bright
265.8Bright
275.8Bright
285.8Bright
295.8Bright
305.8Bright
315.8Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Dover?

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

4.4
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.2
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Dover for sightseeing.

What to pack for Dover in May

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

In May, Dover sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 10°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Dover 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 offshore is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 8°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
Jan9Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct16Cool
Nov13Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Dover 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 Dover peaks around June 22 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 22UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Dover?

Dover sits at 51.1°N, 1.3°E, 12 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Folkestone, 11 km away.

Topography around Dover

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dover has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 132 m around an average of 51 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 191 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 m.

The land around Dover is covered by water (35%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, water (56%) within 16 km, and water (55%) within 80 km.

3 km
132 m
16 km
191 m
80 km
292 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Folkestone 11 km · Deal 13 km · Canterbury 24 km · Ramsgate 24 km · Broadstairs 27 km · Saint Peters 28 km · Margate 29 km · Herne Bay 30 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 Dover (51.126°, 1.3126°, elevation 12 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).