Billings weather in May

In May, Billings sees average daytime highs of 67°F and overnight lows near 45°F, with 2.6 in of precipitation across 10.7 wet days and about 14.7 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 63°F in the first days to 71°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Billings's 11th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Billings's year-round climate.

Daytime high
67°
5th warmest
Overnight low
45°
8th coldest
Precipitation
2.6 in
10.7 wet days
Daylight
14 h 42 min
4:49 AM – 7:32 PM
Cloud cover
63%
11th clearest
Wind
7 mph
8th windiest
Solar energy
6.37 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.0
out of 10

Billings is city in and county seat of Yellowstone County, Montana, United States.

Density
1,039/km²
people per km²
Founded
1877

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 63°F in the first days to 71°F by the end.

A typical May day in Billings reaches about 67°F in the afternoon and slips back to 45°F overnight — a 23°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 53°F and 81°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 10°F warmer than April and about 10°F cooler than June.

20°40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16240
26240
36340
46340
56341
66441
76441
86442
96542
106542
116643
126643
136644
146744
156744
166745
176845
186846
196846
206946
216946
226947
236947
247047
257048
267048
277048
287148
297149
307149
317249

How May really feels in Billings

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
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.

Billings weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan35° / 18°0.95.75.88.90.0
Feb39° / 20°0.865.410.10.0
Mar49° / 27°1.27.14.311.62.1
Apr58° / 35°2.310.83.813.34.0
May67° / 45°2.610.70.614.76.0
Jun77° / 53°2.19015.56.9
Jul87° / 60°0.94.9015.25.5
Aug86° / 58°0.73.9013.96.1
Sep74° / 49°1.45.50.212.37.6
Oct59° / 38°1.87.22.210.75.0
Nov45° / 27°0.95.93.59.31.2
Dec36° / 20°0.85.45.28.50.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% 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 60%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14159
24060
34159
44159
54159
64060
74159
84060
94060
104060
114159
123961
133961
143961
153862
163862
173862
183862
193862
203763
213862
223961
233961
243961
254060
264159
274159
284258
294357
304555
314555

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Billings gets around 2.6 in of rain and snow over 10.7 wet days in May, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 35% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1356
2356
3355
4355
5355
6345
7344
8334
9334
10333
11333
12333
13333
14332
15342
16342
17342
18351
19351
20351
21361
22361
23361
24370
25370
26370
27360
28360
29360
30350
31350

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
251000
26991
27991
28991
29991
30991
31982

Wind in May

Winds average 7 mph in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 7 mph on the calmest days to 8 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
18light breeze
27light breeze
37light breeze
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:10 AM to 4:35 AM, and sunset from 7:13 PM to 7:48 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.15:107:13
214.15:087:14
314.25:067:15
414.25:057:17
514.25:037:18
614.35:027:19
714.35:007:21
814.44:597:22
914.44:587:23
1014.54:567:24
1114.54:557:26
1214.64:547:27
1314.64:527:28
1414.64:517:29
1514.74:507:31
1614.74:497:32
1714.84:487:33
1814.84:467:34
1914.84:457:35
2014.94:447:36
2114.94:437:38
2214.94:427:39
2315.04:417:40
2415.04:407:41
2515.04:397:42
2615.14:397:43
2715.14:387:44
2815.14:377:45
2915.24:367:46
3015.24:357:47
3115.24:357:48

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.37 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.63 kWh/m² to a high of 7.37 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 6.37 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.0Intense
26.1Intense
36.1Intense
46.2Intense
56.2Intense
66.2Intense
76.2Intense
86.3Intense
96.3Intense
106.3Intense
116.3Intense
126.3Intense
136.3Intense
146.3Intense
156.3Intense
166.4Intense
176.4Intense
186.4Intense
196.4Intense
206.4Intense
216.4Intense
226.4Intense
236.4Intense
246.4Intense
256.5Intense
266.5Intense
276.5Intense
286.5Intense
296.6Intense
306.6Intense
316.6Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Billings?

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

6.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
2.9
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Billings for sightseeing.

What to pack for Billings in May

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

In May, Billings sees daytime highs around 67°F and nights near 45°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

UV index in Billings 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 Billings peaks around July 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 13UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Billings in May

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where May falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Billings is worst in August — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodGoodModerateGoodAug 1817 µg/m³Dec 157 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr11Good
May11Good
Jun12Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Billings?

Billings sits at 45.8°N, 108.5°W, 3,123 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Sheridan, 101 mi away.

Topography around Billings

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Billings.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Billings has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 551 ft around an average of 3,196 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,096 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,050 ft.

The land around Billings is covered by artificial surfaces (38%), trees (28%) and grassland (25%) within 2 miles, grassland (69%) within 10 miles, and grassland (81%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
551 ft
10 miles
1,096 ft
50 miles
6,050 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Sheridan 101 mi · Bozeman 122 mi · Great Falls 178 mi · Helena 178 mi · Gillette 179 mi · Butte 194 mi · Rexburg 211 mi · Casper 229 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 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 Billings (45.7833°, -108.5007°, elevation 3,123 ft), 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).