Kettering weather in May

In May, Kettering sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 57 mm of rain across 11.1 wet days and about 15.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 17°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 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 Kettering's 3rd-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kettering's year-round climate.

Daytime high
16°
5th warmest
Overnight low
8th coldest
Rainfall
57 mm
11.1 wet days
Daylight
15 h 30 min
4:15 AM – 7:44 PM
Cloud cover
70%
3rd clearest
Wind
15 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
4.89 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.6
out of 10

Kettering is town in North Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire, England.

Founded
~956 CE

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 17°C by the end.

A typical May day in Kettering 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 11°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)
1146
2146
3147
4157
5157
6157
7157
8157
9157
10157
11157
12157
13157
14168
15168
16168
17168
18168
19168
20168
21168
22168
23179
24179
25179
26179
27179
28179
29179
30179
31179

How May really feels in Kettering

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.

Kettering weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5111.51.280.7
Feb / 409.71.59.51.0
Mar10° / 4410111.52.1
Apr13° / 5211.30.213.63.3
May16° / 5711.1015.44.6
Jun19° / 11°6311.3016.55.6
Jul21° / 13°6512016.16.1
Aug21° / 13°6511.3014.56.1
Sep18° / 10°549.4012.45.6
Oct14° / 6211.1010.33.8
Nov10° / 5811.10.38.52.0
Dec / 5611.21.27.50.9

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13268
23268
33268
43367
53367
63367
73367
83367
93268
103268
113268
123169
133070
143070
152971
162971
172872
182872
192872
202773
212773
222773
232773
242872
252872
262872
272971
282971
292872
302872
312872

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Kettering gets around 57 mm of rain over 11.1 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 37% and peaks near 38% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
138
237
337
436
536
635
735
835
935
1035
1136
1236
1336
1436
1537
1637
1737
1837
1937
2037
2137
2237
2337
2437
2537
2637
2737
2837
2937
3038
3138

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 96% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
11000
21000
3991
4991
5991
6991
7991
8991
9982
10982
11982
12982
13982
14982
15982
16982
17973
18973
19973
20964
21964
22955
23955
24946
25946
26937
27937
28928
29919
30919
319010

Wind in May

Winds average 15 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 15 km/h on the calmest days to 16 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
116light breeze
216light breeze
316light breeze
416light breeze
516light breeze
616light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2415light breeze
2515light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light 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 4:42 AM to 3:56 AM, and sunset from 7:19 PM to 8:05 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.64:427:19
214.74:407:20
314.74:387:22
414.84:367:24
514.94:347:25
614.94:327:27
715.04:307:29
815.04:287:31
915.14:267:32
1015.24:257:34
1115.24:237:36
1215.34:217:37
1315.34:207:39
1415.44:187:40
1515.44:167:42
1615.54:157:44
1715.54:137:45
1815.64:127:47
1915.64:107:48
2015.74:097:50
2115.74:077:51
2215.84:067:53
2315.84:057:54
2415.94:037:56
2515.94:027:57
2616.04:017:58
2716.04:008:00
2816.03:598:01
2916.13:588:02
3016.13:578:04
3116.13:568:05

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 4.89 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.6 kWh/m² to a high of 5.01 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 4.89 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.6Bright
24.7Bright
34.7Bright
44.7Bright
54.8Bright
64.8Bright
74.8Bright
84.8Bright
94.8Bright
104.8Bright
114.9Bright
124.9Bright
134.9Bright
144.9Bright
154.9Bright
164.9Bright
174.9Bright
184.9Bright
194.9Bright
204.9Bright
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 Kettering?

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

4.6
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.6
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Kettering for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kettering in May

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

In May, Kettering sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 8°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Kettering 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 Kettering peaks around August 11 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 11UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kettering?

Kettering sits at 52.4°N, 0.7°W, 95 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Wellingborough, 11 km away.

Topography around Kettering

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kettering has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 68 m around an average of 85 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 178 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 342 m.

The land around Kettering is covered by artificial surfaces (29%), grassland (25%) and trees (24%) within 3 km, cropland (45%) and grassland (28%) within 16 km, and cropland (53%) and grassland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
68 m
16 km
178 m
80 km
342 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Wellingborough 11 km · Corby 11 km · Rushden 15 km · Market Harborough 16 km · Northampton 20 km · Wigston Magna 32 km · Evington 32 km · Stamford 32 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 Kettering (52.3984°, -0.7257°, elevation 95 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. 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).