Glenrothes weather in May

In May, Glenrothes sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 59 mm of rain across 12.2 wet days and about 16 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 9th-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 12% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 hours at the start of May to 16 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Glenrothes's 3rd-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Glenrothes's year-round climate.

Daytime high
14°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Rainfall
59 mm
12.2 wet days
Daylight
16 h 06 min
4:07 AM – 8:11 PM
Cloud cover
72%
3rd clearest
Wind
13 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
4.83 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.9
out of 10

Glenrothes is town in Fife, 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 13°C in the first days to 16°C by the end.

A typical May day in Glenrothes reaches about 14°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 18°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)
1136
2136
3136
4136
5136
6136
7136
8136
9146
10146
11146
12147
13147
14147
15147
16147
17147
18147
19157
20158
21158
22158
23158
24158
25158
26158
27158
28168
29169
30169
31169

How May really feels in Glenrothes

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.

Glenrothes 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 / 7613.62.27.30.7
Feb / 5911.12.19.11.0
Mar / 5912.11.411.41.7
Apr12° / 5511.30.513.82.8
May14° / 5912.20163.9
Jun17° / 10°6512.7017.34.8
Jul19° / 12°7313.4016.85.3
Aug18° / 12°7512.9014.95.4
Sep16° / 10°5911012.54.8
Oct13° / 8412.8010.13.2
Nov / 7413.70.47.91.7
Dec / 7412.91.86.70.8

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 71%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
23070
33169
43169
53070
63169
73169
83169
93169
103169
113070
123070
132971
143070
152971
162971
172971
182971
192872
202872
212872
222872
232872
242872
252872
262872
272872
282773
292872
302773
312674

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Glenrothes gets around 59 mm of rain over 12.2 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 40% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
142
242
342
442
541
641
741
841
941
1041
1141
1241
1341
1441
1541
1640
1740
1839
1939
2039
2139
2239
2339
2439
2539
2639
2739
2839
2939
3039
3140

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 99% 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
14991
15991
16991
17991
18991
19991
20982
21982
22982
23982
24982
25982
26982
27973
28973
29973
30982
31982

Wind in May

Winds average 13 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
113light breeze
213light breeze
313light breeze
413light breeze
513light breeze
613light breeze
713light breeze
813light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1713light breeze
1813light breeze
1913light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze
3113light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 hours at the start of May to 16 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 114 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:39 AM to 3:44 AM, and sunset from 7:41 PM to 8:36 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
115.04:397:41
215.14:377:43
315.24:347:45
415.24:327:47
515.34:307:49
615.44:287:51
715.54:257:53
815.54:237:55
915.64:217:57
1015.74:197:59
1115.74:178:01
1215.84:158:03
1315.94:138:05
1415.94:118:07
1516.04:098:09
1616.14:078:11
1716.14:058:12
1816.24:048:14
1916.24:028:16
2016.34:008:18
2116.43:588:20
2216.43:578:22
2316.53:558:23
2416.53:548:25
2516.63:528:27
2616.63:518:28
2716.73:498:30
2816.73:488:31
2916.83:478:33
3016.83:458:35
3116.93:448:36

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.83 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.37 kWh/m² to a high of 4.83 kWh/m² in May across the year — May's 4.83 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.4Bright
24.5Bright
34.5Bright
44.5Bright
54.6Bright
64.6Bright
74.7Bright
84.7Bright
94.7Bright
104.7Bright
114.8Bright
124.8Bright
134.8Bright
144.8Bright
154.8Bright
164.8Bright
174.8Bright
184.8Bright
194.8Bright
204.8Bright
214.9Bright
224.9Bright
234.9Bright
244.9Bright
254.9Bright
264.9Bright
274.9Bright
284.9Bright
294.9Bright
304.9Bright
314.9Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Glenrothes?

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 Glenrothes.

What to pack for Glenrothes in May

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

In May, Glenrothes sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Glenrothes 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 offshore is warmest in August at about 14°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°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan7Bracing
Feb6Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr7Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun12Bracing
Jul14Bracing
Aug14Bracing
Sep13Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov10Bracing
Dec8Bracing

UV index in Glenrothes 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 Glenrothes peaks around June 20 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 5 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 20UV 5Dec 20UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5High
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Glenrothes?

Glenrothes sits at 56.2°N, 3.2°W, 92 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Kirkcaldy, 9.0 km away.

Topography around Glenrothes

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Glenrothes has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 172 m around an average of 97 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 511 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,211 m.

The land around Glenrothes is covered by trees (37%), artificial surfaces (28%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, grassland (30%), cropland (28%) and water (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (48%) and water (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
172 m
16 km
511 m
80 km
1,211 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Kirkcaldy 9.0 km · Dunfermline 22 km · Edinburgh 27 km · Perth 27 km · Saint Andrews 28 km · Musselburgh 29 km · Dundee 33 km · Broxburn 34 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 Glenrothes (56.1951°, -3.1732°, elevation 92 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).