Golden weather in May

In May, Golden sees average daytime highs of 62°F and overnight lows near 37°F, with 4.1 in of precipitation across 15.3 wet days and about 14.2 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 57°F in the first days to 67°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 13 h 42 min at the start of May to 14 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Golden's 12th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Golden's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 62°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 37°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 4.1 in; 15.3 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 12 min; 4:52 AM – 7:03 PM
Cloud cover: 61%; 12th clearest
Wind: 5 mph; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 7 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.6; out of 10

Golden is city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States.

Density: 783/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1859

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Golden year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

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

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 57°F in the first days to 67°F by the end.

A typical May day in Golden reaches about 62°F in the afternoon and slips back to 37°F overnight — a 25°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 48°F and 75°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 9°F warmer than April and about 11°F cooler than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	56	57	57	57	58	58	59	59	60	60	60	61	61	62	62	62	63	63	63	64	64	64	65	65	65	66	66	67	67	68	68
Avg low (°F)	32	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	36	37	37	37	38	38	38	39	39	39	40	40	40	41	41	41	42	42

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	56	32
2	57	32
3	57	33
4	57	33
5	58	33
6	58	33
7	59	34
8	59	34
9	60	35
10	60	35
11	60	35
12	61	36
13	61	36
14	62	36
15	62	37
16	62	37
17	63	37
18	63	38
19	63	38
20	64	38
21	64	39
22	64	39
23	65	39
24	65	40
25	65	40
26	66	40
27	66	41
28	67	41
29	67	41
30	68	42
31	68	42

How May really feels in Golden

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 13 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Golden 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.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	37° / 15°	1.0	5.7	6	9.5	0.0
Feb	39° / 16°	1.1	6.6	6.7	10.4	0.0
Mar	47° / 22°	2.1	9.1	7.8	11.7	1.6
Apr	53° / 28°	3.2	11.6	8.2	13	2.8
May	62° / 37°	4.1	15.3	4.1	14.2	4.6
Jun	73° / 46°	3.3	14.9	0.4	14.8	6.0
Jul	79° / 52°	3.4	15.9	0	14.5	5.9
Aug	77° / 51°	3.3	17	0	13.6	6.0
Sep	70° / 44°	2.2	10.6	1	12.3	6.6
Oct	58° / 32°	1.9	7.7	4	10.9	4.8
Nov	46° / 22°	1.3	6.8	6.1	9.8	1.3
Dec	37° / 15°	0.9	5.3	5.7	9.2	0.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 23% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 54%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	46	46	45	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	45	45	46	46	47	49	50	52
Cloudier (%)	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	54	54	55	57	57	57	57	57	57	57	57	55	55	54	54	53	51	50	48

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	47	53
4	47	53
5	47	53
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	46	54
14	46	54
15	45	55
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	43	57
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	45	55
25	45	55
26	46	54
27	46	54
28	47	53
29	49	51
30	50	50
31	52	48

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Golden gets around 4.1 in of rain and snow over 15.3 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 49% and peaks near 55% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	44	44	44	44	44	44	44	44	45	45	45	46	47	47	48	49	50	50	51	52	53	53	54	54	55	55	55	55	55	55	55
Snow chance (%)	23	22	21	21	20	19	18	18	17	16	16	15	15	14	14	13	13	12	12	11	11	10	10	9	9	8	8	7	6	6	5

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	23
2	44	22
3	44	21
4	44	21
5	44	20
6	44	19
7	44	18
8	44	18
9	45	17
10	45	16
11	45	16
12	46	15
13	47	15
14	47	14
15	48	14
16	49	13
17	50	13
18	50	12
19	51	12
20	52	11
21	53	11
22	53	10
23	54	10
24	54	9
25	55	9
26	55	8
27	55	8
28	55	7
29	55	6
30	55	6
31	55	5

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.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in May

Winds average 5 mph in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 mph on the calmest days to 5 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	5	calm
2	5	calm
3	5	calm
4	5	calm
5	5	calm
6	5	calm
7	5	calm
8	5	calm
9	5	calm
10	5	calm
11	5	calm
12	5	calm
13	5	calm
14	5	calm
15	5	calm
16	5	calm
17	5	calm
18	5	calm
19	5	calm
20	5	calm
21	5	calm
22	5	calm
23	5	calm
24	5	calm
25	5	calm
26	5	calm
27	5	calm
28	5	calm
29	5	calm
30	5	calm
31	5	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 42 min at the start of May to 14 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:08 AM to 4:41 AM, and sunset from 6:48 PM to 7:16 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.6	14.6
Sunrise (AM)	5:08	5:07	5:06	5:05	5:03	5:02	5:01	5:00	4:59	4:58	4:57	4:56	4:55	4:54	4:53	4:52	4:51	4:50	4:49	4:48	4:47	4:47	4:46	4:45	4:44	4:44	4:43	4:43	4:42	4:41	4:41
Sunset (PM)	6:48	6:49	6:50	6:51	6:52	6:53	6:54	6:55	6:56	6:57	6:58	6:59	7:00	7:01	7:02	7:03	7:04	7:05	7:05	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:11	7:12	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.7	5:08	6:48
2	13.7	5:07	6:49
3	13.7	5:06	6:50
4	13.8	5:05	6:51
5	13.8	5:03	6:52
6	13.8	5:02	6:53
7	13.9	5:01	6:54
8	13.9	5:00	6:55
9	14.0	4:59	6:56
10	14.0	4:58	6:57
11	14.0	4:57	6:58
12	14.1	4:56	6:59
13	14.1	4:55	7:00
14	14.1	4:54	7:01
15	14.2	4:53	7:02
16	14.2	4:52	7:03
17	14.2	4:51	7:04
18	14.2	4:50	7:05
19	14.3	4:49	7:05
20	14.3	4:48	7:06
21	14.3	4:47	7:07
22	14.4	4:47	7:08
23	14.4	4:46	7:09
24	14.4	4:45	7:10
25	14.4	4:44	7:11
26	14.5	4:44	7:12
27	14.5	4:43	7:12
28	14.5	4:43	7:13
29	14.5	4:42	7:14
30	14.6	4:41	7:15
31	14.6	4:41	7:16

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 7 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.62 kWh/m² to a high of 7.51 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 7 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.3
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.8	Intense
2	6.8	Intense
3	6.8	Intense
4	6.8	Intense
5	6.9	Intense
6	6.9	Intense
7	6.9	Intense
8	6.9	Intense
9	6.9	Intense
10	6.9	Intense
11	7.0	Intense
12	7.0	Intense
13	7.0	Intense
14	7.0	Intense
15	7.0	Intense
16	7.0	Intense
17	7.0	Intense
18	7.0	Intense
19	7.0	Intense
20	7.0	Intense
21	7.0	Intense
22	7.0	Intense
23	7.1	Intense
24	7.1	Intense
25	7.1	Intense
26	7.1	Intense
27	7.2	Intense
28	7.2	Intense
29	7.2	Intense
30	7.2	Intense
31	7.3	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Golden

In seasonPeak

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

Golden's rainy season runs March–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 Golden?

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

4.6

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

1.2

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Golden for sightseeing.

What to pack for Golden in May

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

In May, Golden sees daytime highs around 62°F and nights near 37°F. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer. About 15 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectiona warm layer

UV index in Golden in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 8 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Golden peaks around July 14 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	4	7	7	8	11	11	10	8	6	4	2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	7	High
Apr	7	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	10	Extreme
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Air quality in Golden 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 Golden is worst in August — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (May, 13 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	17	15	16	13	13	14	14	21	13	15	15	16
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	17	Moderate
Feb	15	Moderate
Mar	16	Moderate
Apr	13	Moderate
May	13	Moderate
Jun	14	Moderate
Jul	14	Moderate
Aug	21	Moderate
Sep	13	Moderate
Oct	15	Moderate
Nov	15	Moderate
Dec	16	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Golden?

Golden sits at 39.8°N, 105.2°W, 5,676 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Wheat Ridge, 7.5 mi away.

Topography around Golden

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Golden has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,864 ft around an average of 6,106 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,738 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,498 ft.

The land around Golden is covered by grassland (58%), trees (21%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 2 miles, grassland (40%) and trees (38%) within 10 miles, and trees (40%) and grassland (39%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

1,864 ft

grassland 58%

10 miles

4,738 ft

grassland 40%

50 miles

9,498 ft

trees 40%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen

← April Golden year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Wheat Ridge 7.5 mi · Arvada 8.1 mi · Lakewood 8.1 mi · Dakota Ridge 11 mi · Westminster 11 mi · Denver 12 mi · Sherrelwood 13 mi · Broomfield 14 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

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 Golden (39.7555°, -105.2211°, elevation 5,676 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).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	56	32
2	57	32
3	57	33
4	57	33
5	58	33
6	58	33
7	59	34
8	59	34
9	60	35
10	60	35
11	60	35
12	61	36
13	61	36
14	62	36
15	62	37
16	62	37
17	63	37
18	63	38
19	63	38
20	64	38
21	64	39
22	64	39
23	65	39
24	65	40
25	65	40
26	66	40
27	66	41
28	67	41
29	67	41
30	68	42
31	68	42

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	47	53
4	47	53
5	47	53
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	46	54
14	46	54
15	45	55
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	43	57
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	45	55
25	45	55
26	46	54
27	46	54
28	47	53
29	49	51
30	50	50
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	23
2	44	22
3	44	21
4	44	21
5	44	20
6	44	19
7	44	18
8	44	18
9	45	17
10	45	16
11	45	16
12	46	15
13	47	15
14	47	14
15	48	14
16	49	13
17	50	13
18	50	12
19	51	12
20	52	11
21	53	11
22	53	10
23	54	10
24	54	9
25	55	9
26	55	8
27	55	8
28	55	7
29	55	6
30	55	6
31	55	5

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	56	32
2	57	32
3	57	33
4	57	33
5	58	33
6	58	33
7	59	34
8	59	34
9	60	35
10	60	35
11	60	35
12	61	36
13	61	36
14	62	36
15	62	37
16	62	37
17	63	37
18	63	38
19	63	38
20	64	38
21	64	39
22	64	39
23	65	39
24	65	40
25	65	40
26	66	40
27	66	41
28	67	41
29	67	41
30	68	42
31	68	42

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	47	53
4	47	53
5	47	53
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	46	54
14	46	54
15	45	55
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	43	57
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	45	55
25	45	55
26	46	54
27	46	54
28	47	53
29	49	51
30	50	50
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	23
2	44	22
3	44	21
4	44	21
5	44	20
6	44	19
7	44	18
8	44	18
9	45	17
10	45	16
11	45	16
12	46	15
13	47	15
14	47	14
15	48	14
16	49	13
17	50	13
18	50	12
19	51	12
20	52	11
21	53	11
22	53	10
23	54	10
24	54	9
25	55	9
26	55	8
27	55	8
28	55	7
29	55	6
30	55	6
31	55	5

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	56	32
2	57	32
3	57	33
4	57	33
5	58	33
6	58	33
7	59	34
8	59	34
9	60	35
10	60	35
11	60	35
12	61	36
13	61	36
14	62	36
15	62	37
16	62	37
17	63	37
18	63	38
19	63	38
20	64	38
21	64	39
22	64	39
23	65	39
24	65	40
25	65	40
26	66	40
27	66	41
28	67	41
29	67	41
30	68	42
31	68	42

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	47	53
4	47	53
5	47	53
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	47	53
12	47	53
13	46	54
14	46	54
15	45	55
16	43	57
17	43	57
18	43	57
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	45	55
25	45	55
26	46	54
27	46	54
28	47	53
29	49	51
30	50	50
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	44	23
2	44	22
3	44	21
4	44	21
5	44	20
6	44	19
7	44	18
8	44	18
9	45	17
10	45	16
11	45	16
12	46	15
13	47	15
14	47	14
15	48	14
16	49	13
17	50	13
18	50	12
19	51	12
20	52	11
21	53	11
22	53	10
23	54	10
24	54	9
25	55	9
26	55	8
27	55	8
28	55	7
29	55	6
30	55	6
31	55	5

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100