East Lansing weather in May

In May, East Lansing sees average daytime highs of 68°F and overnight lows near 49°F, with 4.0 in of rain across 12.2 wet days and about 14.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 64°F in the first days to 73°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 48 min at the start of May to 14 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is East Lansing's 6th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see East Lansing's year-round climate.

Daytime high
68°
5th warmest
Overnight low
49°
8th coldest
Rainfall
4.0 in
12.2 wet days
Daylight
14 h 24 min
5:21 AM – 7:47 PM
Cloud cover
65%
6th clearest
Wind
8 mph
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.76 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.0
out of 10

East Lansing is city in Ingham and Clinton counties, Michigan, United States.

Density
1,372/km²
people per km²
Founded
1847

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 64°F in the first days to 73°F by the end.

A typical May day in East Lansing reaches about 68°F in the afternoon and slips back to 49°F overnight — a 19°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 56°F and 82°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 11°F warmer than April and about 9°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16344
26345
36445
46445
56546
66546
76546
86547
96647
106647
116747
126748
136748
146748
156849
166849
176949
186950
196950
207050
217051
227051
237152
247152
257252
267253
277253
287353
297354
307354
317455

How May really feels in East Lansing

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.

East Lansing 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
Jan31° / 18°2.4107.99.20.0
Feb34° / 19°2.07.76.210.30.0
Mar44° / 28°2.49.73.811.61.0
Apr57° / 39°3.711.71.713.13.8
May68° / 49°4.012.2014.46.0
Jun78° / 59°3.711.1015.16.5
Jul81° / 63°3.110.6014.86.4
Aug79° / 61°3.310.2013.76.7
Sep72° / 54°2.89.1012.36.8
Oct60° / 43°3.0100.210.84.7
Nov46° / 33°2.69.22.19.61.3
Dec35° / 24°2.29.36.28.90.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33565
43565
53565
63565
73565
83664
93664
103664
113664
123763
133763
143763
153862
163961
173961
183961
193961
204060
214159
224159
234258
244258
254258
264258
274357
284357
294357
304456
314555

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

East Lansing gets around 4.0 in of rain over 12.2 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 rain averages around 39% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
139
239
339
439
540
640
740
840
940
1040
1140
1240
1340
1440
1540
1640
1740
1839
1939
2038
2138
2238
2337
2437
2537
2637
2737
2837
2937
3037
3137

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 80% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
193520
293520
392620
491630
591630
690730
789740
887841
987841
1086941
1185951
12841051
13841051
14821161
15821161
16821161
17801271
18791272
19781282
20781282
21761293
22741394
237313104
247213105
257113115
267014115
276914116
286715126
296616126
306616126
316417127

Wind in May

Winds average 8 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.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
18light breeze
28light breeze
38light breeze
48light breeze
58light breeze
68light breeze
78light breeze
88light breeze
98light breeze
108light breeze
118light breeze
128light breeze
138light breeze
148light breeze
158light breeze
168light breeze
178light breeze
188light breeze
198light breeze
208light breeze
218light breeze
228light breeze
238light breeze
248light breeze
258light breeze
267light breeze
277light breeze
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 48 min at the start of May to 14 h 54 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 5:40 AM to 5:09 AM, and sunset from 7:30 PM to 8:02 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.85:407:30
213.95:387:32
313.95:377:33
414.05:367:34
514.05:347:35
614.15:337:36
714.15:327:37
814.15:307:38
914.25:297:40
1014.25:287:41
1114.35:277:42
1214.35:267:43
1314.35:247:44
1414.45:237:45
1514.45:227:46
1614.45:217:47
1714.55:207:48
1814.55:197:49
1914.55:187:50
2014.65:177:51
2114.65:167:52
2214.65:157:53
2314.75:157:54
2414.75:147:55
2514.75:137:56
2614.75:127:57
2714.85:127:58
2814.85:117:59
2914.85:108:00
3014.95:108:01
3114.95:098:02

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 1.37 kWh/m² to a high of 6.31 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.76 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.4Bright
25.4Bright
35.5Bright
45.5Bright
55.5Bright
65.5Bright
75.5Bright
85.5Bright
95.6Bright
105.6Bright
115.6Bright
125.6Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.7Bright
165.8Bright
175.8Bright
185.8Bright
195.8Bright
205.9Bright
215.9Bright
225.9Bright
236.0Bright
246.0Bright
256.0Bright
266.0Intense
276.0Intense
286.0Intense
296.1Intense
306.1Intense
316.1Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit East Lansing?

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

6.0
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
3.2
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit East Lansing for sightseeing.

What to pack for East Lansing in May

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

In May, East Lansing sees daytime highs around 68°F and nights near 49°F. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in East Lansing in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in East Lansing peaks around June 20 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 20UV 9Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is East Lansing?

East Lansing sits at 42.7°N, 84.5°W, 856 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Okemos, 3.1 mi away.

Topography around East Lansing

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around East Lansing has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 148 ft around an average of 860 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 240 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 702 ft.

The land around East Lansing is covered by trees (47%) and artificial surfaces (38%) within 2 miles, trees (47%) and cropland (20%) within 10 miles, and trees (43%) and cropland (41%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
148 ft
10 miles
240 ft
50 miles
702 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Okemos 3.1 mi · Lansing 3.7 mi · Haslett 4.3 mi · Holt 6.8 mi · Waverly 6.8 mi · Jackson 34 mi · Flint 45 mi · Battle Creek 46 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 East Lansing (42.737°, -84.4839°, elevation 856 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).