Forest Lake weather in May

In May, Forest Lake sees average daytime highs of 67°F and overnight lows near 49°F, with 4.2 in of precipitation across 11.5 wet days and about 14.6 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 72°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% 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 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Forest Lake's 7th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Forest Lake's year-round climate.

Daytime high
67°
5th warmest
Overnight low
49°
8th coldest
Precipitation
4.2 in
11.5 wet days
Daylight
14 h 42 min
4:48 AM – 7:28 PM
Cloud cover
65%
7th clearest
Wind
8 mph
3rd windiest
Solar energy
5.65 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.9
out of 10

Forest Lake is city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States.

Density
213/km²
people per km²
Founded
1874

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 72°F by the end.

A typical May day in Forest Lake reaches about 67°F in the afternoon and slips back to 49°F overnight — a 18°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 55°F and 80°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 13°F warmer than April and about 10°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16243
26243
36244
46344
56345
66445
76446
86446
96546
106547
116547
126647
136648
146748
156749
166749
176849
186850
196950
206951
216951
227051
237052
247052
257152
267153
277153
287254
297254
307254
317355

How May really feels in Forest Lake

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.

Forest Lake 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
Jan22° / 0.95.868.90.0
Feb27° / 11°1.04.94.910.10.0
Mar40° / 23°2.07.44.111.60.4
Apr55° / 36°3.310.52.513.23.4
May67° / 49°4.211.50.214.65.9
Jun77° / 59°4.411.8015.46.4
Jul81° / 63°3.610.5015.16.5
Aug79° / 61°3.810013.96.8
Sep71° / 53°3.49.1012.36.7
Oct56° / 40°2.78.90.810.73.9
Nov40° / 27°1.97.13.69.30.4
Dec27° / 14°1.45.85.88.60.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% 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 60%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
24060
33961
43961
53961
63862
73862
83862
93862
103961
114060
124060
134060
144060
154060
164060
174060
184060
194060
204060
214060
224060
234159
244159
254159
264060
274060
284060
294060
304159
314060

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Forest Lake gets around 4.2 in of rain and snow over 11.5 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 39% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1353
2353
3362
4362
5362
6362
7372
8372
9371
10371
11361
12361
13361
14361
15360
16360
17360
18360
19360
20360
21370
22370
23380
24380
25380
26380
27390
28390
29390
30390
31390

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 (%)
197210
296310
396310
496310
596310
694420
794420
894420
992530
1092530
1192530
1291630
1390640
1489740
1588741
1687841
1786851
1885951
1985951
20821062
21811162
22811162
23791272
24791272
25771373
26761473
27751483
28741583
29731683
30711793
31701893

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
268light breeze
278light breeze
288light breeze
298light breeze
308light breeze
317light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 hours 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 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:09 AM to 4:35 AM, and sunset from 7:10 PM to 7:44 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.05:097:10
214.15:077:11
314.15:067:12
414.25:047:14
514.25:037:15
614.25:017:16
714.35:007:17
814.34:587:19
914.44:577:20
1014.44:567:21
1114.54:547:22
1214.54:537:23
1314.54:527:25
1414.64:507:26
1514.64:497:27
1614.74:487:28
1714.74:477:29
1814.74:467:31
1914.84:457:32
2014.84:447:33
2114.94:437:34
2214.94:427:35
2314.94:417:36
2415.04:407:37
2515.04:397:38
2615.04:387:39
2715.04:377:40
2815.14:377:41
2915.14:367:42
3015.14:357:43
3115.24:357:44

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.65 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.38 kWh/m² to a high of 6.26 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 5.65 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.4Bright
25.4Bright
35.4Bright
45.4Bright
55.4Bright
65.4Bright
75.5Bright
85.5Bright
95.5Bright
105.5Bright
115.5Bright
125.5Bright
135.6Bright
145.6Bright
155.6Bright
165.6Bright
175.7Bright
185.7Bright
195.7Bright
205.7Bright
215.7Bright
225.8Bright
235.8Bright
245.8Bright
255.8Bright
265.8Bright
275.8Bright
285.9Bright
295.9Bright
305.9Bright
315.9Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Forest Lake?

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

May is a reasonable time to visit Forest Lake for sightseeing.

What to pack for Forest Lake in May

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

In May, Forest Lake sees daytime highs around 67°F and nights near 49°F. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Forest Lake 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 Forest Lake peaks around June 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 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 8Jan 12UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Forest Lake?

Forest Lake sits at 45.3°N, 93.0°W, 912 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Lino Lakes, 9.3 mi away.

Topography around Forest Lake

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Forest Lake has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 108 ft around an average of 909 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 243 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 860 ft.

The land around Forest Lake is covered by trees (35%), grassland (22%) and water (21%) within 2 miles, trees (42%) and grassland (35%) within 10 miles, and trees (45%), cropland (27%) and grassland (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
108 ft
10 miles
243 ft
50 miles
860 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
May weather nearby: Lino Lakes 9.3 mi · Ham Lake 13 mi · White Bear Lake 14 mi · Blaine 15 mi · Andover 15 mi · Shoreview 16 mi · Stillwater 17 mi · New Brighton 18 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 Forest Lake (45.2789°, -92.9852°, elevation 912 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).