Brookings weather in May

In May, Brookings sees average daytime highs of 67°F and overnight lows near 47°F, with 3.7 in of precipitation across 11.2 wet days and about 14.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 62°F in the first days to 71°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 hours at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Brookings's 7th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Brookings's year-round climate.

Daytime high
67°
5th warmest
Overnight low
47°
8th coldest
Precipitation
3.7 in
11.2 wet days
Daylight
14 h 36 min
5:06 AM – 7:41 PM
Cloud cover
62%
7th clearest
Wind
10 mph
5th windiest
Solar energy
5.76 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.9
out of 10

Brookings is city in and county seat of Brookings County, South Dakota, United States.

Density
701/km²
people per km²
Founded
1857

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 62°F in the first days to 71°F by the end.

A typical May day in Brookings reaches about 67°F in the afternoon and slips back to 47°F overnight — a 20°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 54°F and 80°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 12°F warmer than April and about 10°F cooler than June.

20°40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16140
26241
36241
46242
56342
66343
76443
86444
96444
106544
116545
126545
136646
146646
156746
166747
176747
186848
196848
206849
216949
226949
236950
247050
257051
267151
277151
287152
297152
307253
317253

How May really feels in Brookings

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.

Brookings weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 0.854.99.10.0
Feb28° / 11°0.84.54.510.20.0
Mar40° / 22°1.76.43.811.60.5
Apr55° / 34°3.19.72.413.23.5
May67° / 47°3.711.20.114.55.9
Jun77° / 58°4.512.2015.36.5
Jul81° / 62°3.18.70156.9
Aug79° / 59°3.28.4013.87.2
Sep71° / 50°2.87.5012.37.2
Oct57° / 37°2.27.31.110.84.4
Nov41° / 24°1.453.49.40.5
Dec28° / 13°0.94.95.18.70.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% 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 56%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14357
24258
34258
44258
54258
64258
74258
84258
94258
104357
114357
124357
134357
144456
154456
164456
174456
184456
194456
204555
214555
224555
234456
244555
254555
264555
274555
284456
294555
304555
314555

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Brookings gets around 3.7 in of rain and snow over 11.2 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 37% and peaks near 41% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1352
2362
3361
4361
5361
6361
7361
8361
9350
10350
11350
12350
13340
14340
15340
16350
17350
18350
19360
20360
21360
22370
23370
24380
25390
26400
27400
28410
29410
30410
31410

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 86% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
197300
296400
396400
495500
594510
694510
793610
893610
992620
1091720
1191720
1290820
1389830
1489830
1588930
1687940
17861040
18861040
19841150
20831250
21821260
22811360
23801370
24791470
25781570
26771580
27761680
28731791
29731791
307118101
317018111

Wind in May

Winds average 10 mph in May.

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

051015151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
111light breeze
211light breeze
311light breeze
411light breeze
511light breeze
611light breeze
711light breeze
811light breeze
911light breeze
1011light breeze
1111light breeze
1211light breeze
1311light breeze
1411light breeze
1511light breeze
1611light breeze
1711light breeze
1810light breeze
1910light breeze
2010light breeze
2110light breeze
2210light breeze
2310light breeze
2410light breeze
2510light breeze
2610light breeze
2710light breeze
2810light breeze
2910light breeze
3010light breeze
3110light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

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

Days grow by about 60 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:26 AM to 4:53 AM, and sunset from 7:23 PM to 7:56 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.05:267:23
214.05:247:24
314.05:237:25
414.15:217:27
514.15:207:28
614.25:197:29
714.25:177:30
814.35:167:31
914.35:157:33
1014.35:137:34
1114.45:127:35
1214.45:117:36
1314.55:107:37
1414.55:087:38
1514.55:077:40
1614.65:067:41
1714.65:057:42
1814.65:047:43
1914.75:037:44
2014.75:027:45
2114.85:017:46
2214.85:007:47
2314.84:597:48
2414.94:587:49
2514.94:577:50
2614.94:577:51
2714.94:567:52
2815.04:557:53
2915.04:547:54
3015.04:547:55
3115.04:537:56

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.76 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 6.64 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 5.76 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.5Bright
25.5Bright
35.5Bright
45.6Bright
55.6Bright
65.6Bright
75.6Bright
85.6Bright
95.6Bright
105.7Bright
115.7Bright
125.7Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.8Bright
165.8Bright
175.8Bright
185.8Bright
195.8Bright
205.8Bright
215.8Bright
225.8Bright
235.8Bright
245.9Bright
255.9Bright
265.9Bright
275.9Bright
285.9Bright
295.9Bright
306.0Bright
316.0Bright
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Brookings

In seasonPeak

In May, Brookings sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Brookings's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is May a good time to visit Brookings?

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

5.9
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
2.8
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Brookings for sightseeing.

What to pack for Brookings in May

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

In May, Brookings sees daytime highs around 67°F and nights near 47°F. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Brookings 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 Brookings peaks around June 18 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 highHighModerateLowJun 18UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May6High
Jun9Very high
Jul7Very high
Aug6High
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Brookings?

Brookings sits at 44.3°N, 96.8°W, 1,621 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Watertown, 43 mi away.

Topography around Brookings

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Brookings has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 118 ft around an average of 1,627 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 246 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 974 ft.

The land around Brookings is covered by grassland (42%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 2 miles, cropland (63%) and grassland (29%) within 10 miles, and cropland (72%) and grassland (23%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
118 ft
10 miles
246 ft
50 miles
974 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Watertown 43 mi · Sioux Falls 53 mi · Mitchell 74 mi · Willmar 103 mi · Aberdeen 115 mi · Sioux City 127 mi · Mankato 139 mi · Saint Cloud 155 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 Brookings (44.3114°, -96.7984°, elevation 1,621 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).