Great Bend weather in May

In May, Great Bend sees average daytime highs of 76°F and overnight lows near 54°F, with 4.5 in of rain across 10.9 wet days and about 14.1 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 71°F in the first days to 80°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 36 min at the start of May to 14 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Great Bend's 12th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Great Bend's year-round climate.

Daytime high
76°
5th warmest
Overnight low
54°
8th coldest
Rainfall
4.5 in
10.9 wet days
Daylight
14 h 06 min
5:29 AM – 7:34 PM
Cloud cover
53%
12th clearest
Wind
11 mph
3rd windiest
Solar energy
6.28 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.7
out of 10

Great Bend is city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States.

Density
566/km²
people per km²
Founded
1871

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 71°F in the first days to 80°F by the end.

A typical May day in Great Bend reaches about 76°F in the afternoon and slips back to 54°F overnight — a 21°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 63°F and 88°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 10°F warmer than April and about 10°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
17048
27049
37149
47150
57250
67251
77351
87351
97352
107452
117453
127453
137553
147554
157654
167654
177655
187655
197756
207756
217856
227857
237857
247857
257958
267958
278058
288059
298059
308160
318160

How May really feels in Great Bend

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.

Great Bend 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
Jan43° / 22°0.83.62.69.60.5
Feb47° / 26°1.14.62.510.51.7
Mar57° / 34°2.06.21.511.74.4
Apr66° / 44°2.78.80.6136.4
May76° / 54°4.510.9014.16.7
Jun86° / 65°3.59.3014.65.2
Jul91° / 69°2.88.7014.43.9
Aug89° / 67°3.18.5013.54.6
Sep81° / 59°2.16.5012.37.0
Oct69° / 46°2.360.3117.3
Nov55° / 34°1.34.419.94.3
Dec44° / 25°1.34.42.79.40.9

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 45%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15446
25545
35545
45644
55644
65743
75842
85842
95842
105842
115941
125842
135743
145743
155644
165545
175446
185347
195248
205248
215149
225149
235149
245248
255248
265248
275347
285446
295545
305644
315644

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Great Bend gets around 4.5 in of rain over 10.9 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 35% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
135
235
336
435
535
635
734
834
934
1033
1133
1233
1333
1433
1534
1634
1734
1835
1935
2036
2136
2237
2337
2437
2537
2637
2737
2837
2936
3036
3135

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 59% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
1851140
2841240
3821350
4801451
5781561
6761671
7751771
8731881
9711991
10702091
116821101
126522112
136522112
146323122
156223132
166024142
175724163
185624173
195424193
205324203
215124223
224924233
234725254
244525264
254325274
264226284
274026295
283826305
293627316
303527326
313327327

Wind in May

Winds average 11 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
1811light breeze
1911light breeze
2011light 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 13 h 36 min at the start of May to 14 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 48 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:45 AM to 5:19 AM, and sunset from 7:20 PM to 7:46 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.65:457:20
213.65:447:20
313.65:437:21
413.75:417:22
513.75:407:23
613.85:397:24
713.85:387:25
813.85:377:26
913.95:367:27
1013.95:357:28
1113.95:347:29
1214.05:337:30
1314.05:327:31
1414.05:317:32
1514.05:307:33
1614.15:297:34
1714.15:287:34
1814.15:277:35
1914.25:277:36
2014.25:267:37
2114.25:257:38
2214.25:247:39
2314.35:247:40
2414.35:237:40
2514.35:227:41
2614.35:227:42
2714.45:217:43
2814.45:207:44
2914.45:207:44
3014.45:197:45
3114.45:197:46

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.28 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.4 kWh/m² to a high of 6.93 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 6.28 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.9Bright
25.9Bright
36.0Bright
46.0Intense
56.0Intense
66.1Intense
76.1Intense
86.1Intense
96.2Intense
106.2Intense
116.2Intense
126.3Intense
136.3Intense
146.3Intense
156.3Intense
166.3Intense
176.3Intense
186.3Intense
196.3Intense
206.4Intense
216.4Intense
226.4Intense
236.4Intense
246.4Intense
256.4Intense
266.4Intense
276.5Intense
286.5Intense
296.5Intense
306.5Intense
316.5Intense
Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Great Bend

In seasonPeak

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

Great Bend'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 Great Bend?

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

6.7
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
5.7
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Great Bend for sightseeing.

What to pack for Great Bend in May

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

In May, Great Bend sees daytime highs around 76°F and nights near 54°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothesrain gear

UV index in Great Bend 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 Great Bend peaks around July 14 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highHighModerateJul 14UV 10Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr8Very high
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7High
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Great Bend?

Great Bend sits at 38.4°N, 98.8°W, 1,850 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Hays, 47 mi away.

Topography around Great Bend

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Great Bend has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 52 ft around an average of 1,850 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 217 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 978 ft.

The land around Great Bend is covered by cropland (33%), artificial surfaces (27%) and grassland (23%) within 2 miles, cropland (67%) and grassland (23%) within 10 miles, and cropland (58%) and grassland (39%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
52 ft
10 miles
217 ft
50 miles
978 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Hays 47 mi · Hutchinson 50 mi · Salina 70 mi · Newton 80 mi · Dodge City 80 mi · Wichita 91 mi · Derby 99 mi · Junction City 114 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 Great Bend (38.3645°, -98.7648°, elevation 1,850 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).