Ithaca weather in May

In May, Ithaca sees average daytime highs of 66°F and overnight lows near 48°F, with 3.6 in of precipitation across 13.2 wet days and about 14.4 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 62°F in the first days to 70°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% 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 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Ithaca's 6th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Ithaca's year-round climate.

Daytime high
66°
5th warmest
Overnight low
48°
8th coldest
Precipitation
3.6 in
13.2 wet days
Daylight
14 h 24 min
4:50 AM – 7:14 PM
Cloud cover
65%
6th clearest
Wind
6 mph
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.65 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.6
out of 10

Ithaca is city in Tompkins County, New York, USA, enclosed by the town of the same name.

Density
1,958/km²
people per km²
Founded
1888

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 70°F by the end.

A typical May day in Ithaca reaches about 66°F in the afternoon and slips back to 48°F overnight — a 19°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 11°F warmer than April and about 9°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16143
26243
36244
46344
56344
66345
76445
86445
96445
106446
116546
126546
136546
146547
156647
166647
176648
186748
196748
206749
216849
226849
236950
246950
256951
266951
277051
287052
297052
307152
317153

How May really feels in Ithaca

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.

Ithaca weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 18°2.81210.89.20.0
Feb33° / 19°2.510.48.410.30.0
Mar42° / 26°3.512.37.111.60.4
Apr55° / 37°3.913.32.613.13.2
May66° / 48°3.613.20.114.45.6
Jun75° / 57°3.911.70156.5
Jul79° / 62°3.812.4014.86.3
Aug77° / 60°3.411.3013.76.7
Sep70° / 53°3.810.4012.36.4
Oct58° / 43°4.113.10.510.84.0
Nov46° / 33°3.312.24.19.61.2
Dec36° / 25°3.412.59.18.90.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 62%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33664
43664
53763
63763
73664
83664
93664
103664
113565
123565
133565
143664
153664
163664
173664
183763
193862
203961
213961
223961
234159
244159
254258
264357
274258
284258
294258
304357
314357

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Ithaca gets around 3.6 in of rain and snow over 13.2 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 42% and peaks near 44% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1442
2442
3441
4441
5441
6441
7441
8441
9441
10431
11431
12431
13431
14431
15431
16421
17421
18420
19420
20410
21410
22410
23410
24410
25410
26410
27410
28410
29410
30400
31400

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 81% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
194510
293610
392710
491720
590820
690820
789920
889920
9871030
10871030
11861130
12861130
13851230
14841240
15831340
16821350
17811450
18811450
19781561
20771571
21761581
22761581
23731692
247216102
257116112
267016113
276916123
286916123
296816133
306816133
316616144

Wind in May

Winds average 6 mph in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 48 min at the start of May to 14 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 60 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:08 AM to 4:38 AM, and sunset from 6:58 PM to 7:29 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.85:086:58
213.95:076:59
313.95:067:00
413.95:047:01
514.05:037:02
614.05:027:04
714.15:007:05
814.14:597:06
914.14:587:07
1014.24:577:08
1114.24:567:09
1214.34:547:10
1314.34:537:11
1414.34:527:12
1514.44:517:13
1614.44:507:14
1714.44:497:15
1814.54:487:17
1914.54:477:18
2014.54:467:19
2114.64:457:20
2214.64:447:21
2314.64:447:22
2414.74:437:22
2514.74:427:23
2614.74:417:24
2714.74:407:25
2814.84:407:26
2914.84:397:27
3014.84:397:28
3114.84:387:29

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 1.31 kWh/m² to a high of 5.99 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 5.65 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.3Bright
25.3Bright
35.3Bright
45.4Bright
55.4Bright
65.4Bright
75.4Bright
85.5Bright
95.5Bright
105.5Bright
115.5Bright
125.5Bright
135.5Bright
145.6Bright
155.6Bright
165.6Bright
175.6Bright
185.7Bright
195.7Bright
205.7Bright
215.7Bright
225.7Bright
235.8Bright
245.8Bright
255.8Bright
265.8Bright
275.8Bright
285.8Bright
295.8Bright
305.8Bright
315.8Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Ithaca?

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

5.6
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
2.5
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Ithaca for sightseeing.

What to pack for Ithaca in May

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

In May, Ithaca sees daytime highs around 66°F and nights near 48°F. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Ithaca 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 Ithaca peaks around July 11 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 11UV 9Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug6High
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Ithaca?

Ithaca sits at 42.4°N, 76.5°W, 410 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Cortland, 19 mi away.

Topography around Ithaca

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Ithaca has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 919 ft around an average of 686 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,772 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,060 ft.

The land around Ithaca is covered by trees (59%) within 2 miles, trees (65%) and grassland (20%) within 10 miles, and trees (66%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
919 ft
10 miles
1,772 ft
50 miles
2,060 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Cortland 19 mi · Elmira 29 mi · Vestal 34 mi · Auburn 34 mi · Binghamton 38 mi · Syracuse 45 mi · Clay 54 mi · Cicero 54 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 Ithaca (42.4406°, -76.4966°, elevation 410 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).