Fort William weather in May

In May, Fort William sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 122 mm of precipitation across 16.9 wet days and about 16.1 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 11°C in the first days to 14°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 06 min at the start of May to 17 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Fort William's 1st-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort William's year-round climate.

Daytime high
13°
5th warmest
Overnight low
7th coldest
Precipitation
122 mm
16.9 wet days
Daylight
16 h 12 min
4:12 AM – 8:22 PM
Cloud cover
77%
1st clearest
Wind
11 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
4.43 kWh/m²
Travel score
2.8
out of 10

Fort William is town in Highland, Scotland, UK.

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 11°C in the first days to 14°C by the end.

A typical May day in Fort William reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 18°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C warmer than April and about 2°C cooler than June.

10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1114
2114
3114
4124
5124
6124
7124
8124
9124
10124
11125
12125
13125
14125
15125
16125
17135
18135
19135
20136
21136
22136
23136
24136
25136
26146
27146
28147
29147
30147
31147

How May really feels in Fort William

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.

Fort William weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 22419.510.87.20.0
Feb / 18117.59.89.10.0
Mar / 16617.97.611.40.6
Apr10° / 11316.42.813.91.7
May13° / 12216.90.416.12.8
Jun15° / 11817.4017.43.4
Jul16° / 10°12919.4016.93.7
Aug16° / 10°14519.5014.93.7
Sep14° / 15117012.53.1
Oct10° / 18618.90.5101.8
Nov / 17518.73.27.80.7
Dec / 20518.486.60.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in May, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 9% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 81%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12080
22179
32179
42278
52278
62377
72377
82278
92278
102278
112278
122080
132080
142080
152080
161981
171882
181783
191783
201684
211684
221684
231783
241684
251783
261783
271783
281783
291882
301882
311783

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Fort William gets around 122 mm of rain and snow over 16.9 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 55% and peaks near 56% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1554
2554
3544
4543
5543
6543
7543
8543
9552
10552
11562
12562
13562
14562
15561
16561
17561
18551
19551
20551
21551
22550
23550
24550
25550
26540
27540
28540
29540
30540
31540

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 100% 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
81000
91000
101000
111000
121000
131000
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
221000
231000
241000
25991
26991
27991
28991
29991
30991
31991

Wind in May

Winds average 11 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2910calm
3010calm
3110calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 06 min at the start of May to 17 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 114 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:44 AM to 3:48 AM, and sunset from 7:51 PM to 8:48 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.14:447:51
215.24:427:53
315.34:407:55
415.34:377:57
515.44:357:59
615.54:338:01
715.54:318:03
815.64:288:05
915.74:268:08
1015.84:248:10
1115.84:228:12
1215.94:208:14
1316.04:188:16
1416.04:168:18
1516.14:148:20
1616.24:128:22
1716.24:108:23
1816.34:088:25
1916.44:068:27
2016.44:048:29
2116.54:038:31
2216.54:018:33
2316.63:598:35
2416.63:588:36
2516.73:568:38
2616.83:558:40
2716.83:538:41
2816.93:528:43
2916.93:508:45
3017.03:498:46
3117.03:488:48

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.43 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.29 kWh/m² to a high of 4.43 kWh/m² in May across the year — May's 4.43 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.1Bright
24.1Bright
34.2Bright
44.2Bright
54.3Bright
64.3Bright
74.3Bright
84.3Bright
94.3Bright
104.4Bright
114.4Bright
124.4Bright
134.4Bright
144.4Bright
154.4Bright
164.4Bright
174.4Bright
184.4Bright
194.4Bright
204.4Bright
214.4Bright
224.4Bright
234.4Bright
244.5Bright
254.5Bright
264.5Bright
274.5Bright
284.5Bright
294.5Bright
304.5Bright
314.5Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Fort William?

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

2.8
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fort William.

What to pack for Fort William in May

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

In May, Fort William sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 5°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 17 days see rain.

rain geara warm layer

Sea temperature near Fort William in May

The nearest coast averages about 10°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 47 km away) is warmest in August at about 14°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

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

6°8°10°12°14°16°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul13Bracing
Aug14Bracing
Sep14Bracing
Oct13Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Fort William in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort William peaks around July 11 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 11UV 5Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Fort William?

Fort William sits at 56.8°N, 5.1°W, 24 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Inverness, 91 km away.

InvernessGreenockVale of LevenDumbartonStirlingErskineClydebankBearsden

Topography around Fort William

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort William has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 521 m around an average of 97 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,341 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,339 m.

The land around Fort William is covered by grassland (48%), trees (23%) and water (21%) within 3 km, grassland (69%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) within 80 km.

3 km
521 m
16 km
1,341 m
80 km
1,339 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Inverness 91 km · Greenock 99 km · Vale of Leven 100 km · Dumbarton 103 km · Stirling 106 km · Erskine 110 km · Clydebank 111 km · Bearsden 111 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 Fort William (56.8165°, -5.1121°, elevation 24 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).