Ely weather in May

In May, Ely sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 52 mm of rain across 10.1 wet days and about 15.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 15°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 36 min at the start of May to 16 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Ely's 3rd-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Ely's year-round climate.

Daytime high
16°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Rainfall
52 mm
10.1 wet days
Daylight
15 h 30 min
4:11 AM – 7:40 PM
Cloud cover
69%
3rd clearest
Wind
15 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
4.98 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.0
out of 10

Ely is city and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, 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 15°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical May day in Ely reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 8°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 12°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 3°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1157
2157
3157
4157
5157
6157
7157
8158
9168
10168
11168
12168
13168
14168
15168
16168
17169
18179
19179
20179
21179
22179
23179
24179
25179
261710
271710
281810
291810
301810
311810

How May really feels in Ely

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.

Ely weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5111.50.780.9
Feb / 399.51.29.51.2
Mar10° / 43100.711.52.3
Apr13° / 4610.60.113.63.6
May16° / 5210.1015.45.0
Jun19° / 11°6010.5016.55.8
Jul22° / 13°5711.2016.16.3
Aug21° / 13°6210.8014.56.2
Sep18° / 11°519.3012.45.8
Oct15° / 5810.8010.34.1
Nov10° / 5511.10.28.52.3
Dec / 5310.90.77.51.1

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13268
23367
33367
43367
53367
63367
73268
83268
93268
103268
113268
123169
133070
143070
153070
162971
172971
182971
192971
202971
212971
222971
232971
242971
252971
262971
272971
282971
293070
303070
313070

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Ely gets around 52 mm of rain over 10.1 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 33% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
136
235
335
434
533
633
732
832
932
1032
1132
1233
1333
1433
1533
1633
1733
1833
1933
2033
2133
2233
2333
2433
2533
2633
2734
2834
2934
3035
3135

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 95% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
110000
29910
39910
49910
59910
69910
79910
89820
99820
109820
119820
129820
139730
149730
159730
169730
179640
189640
199640
209550
219550
229460
239370
249370
259280
269181
279091
2889101
2989101
3088111
3188111

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
1514light breeze
1614light breeze
1714light breeze
1814light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light 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 36 min at the start of May to 16 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:38 AM to 3:52 AM, and sunset from 7:15 PM to 8:01 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.64:387:15
214.74:367:16
314.74:347:18
414.84:327:20
514.94:307:22
614.94:287:23
715.04:267:25
815.04:247:27
915.14:227:28
1015.24:217:30
1115.24:197:32
1215.34:177:33
1315.34:167:35
1415.44:147:36
1515.44:127:38
1615.54:117:40
1715.54:097:41
1815.64:087:43
1915.64:067:44
2015.74:057:46
2115.74:037:47
2215.84:027:49
2315.84:017:50
2415.94:007:52
2515.93:587:53
2616.03:577:54
2716.03:567:56
2816.03:557:57
2916.13:547:58
3016.13:538:00
3116.13:528:01

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.98 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.59 kWh/m² to a high of 5.12 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 4.98 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
305.0Bright
315.0Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Ely?

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

5.0
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.8
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Ely for sightseeing.

What to pack for Ely in May

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

In May, Ely sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Ely 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 53 km away) is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 5°C.

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

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan6Bracing
Feb5Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct13Bracing
Nov10Bracing
Dec7Bracing

UV index in Ely 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 Ely peaks around August 10 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 21 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 10UV 6Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Ely?

Ely sits at 52.4°N, 0.3°E, 21 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Newmarket, 20 km away.

Topography around Ely

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ely has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 34 m around an average of 7 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 46 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 265 m.

The land around Ely is covered by cropland (52%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, cropland (69%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and cropland (60%) within 80 km.

3 km
34 m
16 km
46 m
80 km
265 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
May weather nearby: Newmarket 20 km · March 21 km · Saint Ives 24 km · Cambridge 24 km · Wisbech 30 km · Primrose Place 31 km · Huntingdon 31 km · Thetford 33 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 Ely (52.3996°, 0.262°, elevation 21 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).