Las Cruces weather in May

In May, Las Cruces sees average daytime highs of 86°F and overnight lows near 59°F, with 0.3 in of rain across 1.7 wet days and about 13.6 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 82°F in the first days to 91°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 69% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 18 min at the start of May to 13 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Las Cruces's 3rd-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Las Cruces's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 86°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 59°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 0.3 in; 1.7 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 42 min; 5:14 AM – 6:53 PM
Cloud cover: 27%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 8 mph; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 8.16 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.4; out of 10

Las Cruces is city in and county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States.

Founded: 1849

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

← April Las Cruces 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 82°F in the first days to 91°F by the end.

A typical May day in Las Cruces reaches about 86°F in the afternoon and slips back to 59°F overnight — a 27°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 77°F and 94°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 9°F warmer than April and about 8°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)	82	82	82	83	83	83	83	84	84	84	85	85	85	85	86	86	86	87	87	87	88	88	88	89	89	89	90	90	91	91	91
Avg low (°F)	54	55	55	55	56	56	56	56	57	57	57	58	58	58	58	59	59	59	60	60	60	61	61	61	62	62	62	62	63	63	64

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	82	54
2	82	55
3	82	55
4	83	55
5	83	56
6	83	56
7	83	56
8	84	56
9	84	57
10	84	57
11	85	57
12	85	58
13	85	58
14	85	58
15	86	58
16	86	59
17	86	59
18	87	59
19	87	60
20	87	60
21	88	60
22	88	61
23	88	61
24	89	61
25	89	62
26	89	62
27	90	62
28	90	62
29	91	63
30	91	63
31	91	64

How May really feels in Las Cruces

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 5 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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Las Cruces weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	56° / 34°	0.5	3	0.6	10.1	4.8
Feb	62° / 38°	0.5	2.9	0.2	10.8	6.5
Mar	69° / 44°	0.4	1.9	0	11.8	8.1
Apr	77° / 50°	0.2	1.2	0	12.8	8.8
May	86° / 59°	0.3	1.7	0	13.6	6.4
Jun	94° / 68°	0.4	2.1	0	14.1	3.4
Jul	94° / 71°	1.3	7	0	13.9	3.2
Aug	92° / 69°	1.0	6.2	0	13.2	3.9
Sep	86° / 63°	1.1	3.8	0	12.2	6.0
Oct	77° / 52°	0.8	3.1	0	11.2	8.4
Nov	65° / 41°	0.6	2.2	0.3	10.3	7.3
Dec	56° / 34°	0.7	3.3	0.6	9.9	4.5

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 69% 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 16%.

	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 (%)	84	84	84	84	83	83	83	83	83	83	82	82	82	82	82	82	82	83	83	83	84	85	85	85	87	87	88	88	88	88	88
Cloudier (%)	16	16	16	16	17	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	17	17	16	15	15	15	13	13	12	12	12	12	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	84	16
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	84	16
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	83	17
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	82	18
12	82	18
13	82	18
14	82	18
15	82	18
16	82	18
17	82	18
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	84	16
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	85	15
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Las Cruces gets around 0.3 in of rain over 1.7 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 6% and peaks near 7% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	5

	Rain chance (%)
1	3
2	3
3	4
4	4
5	4
6	4
7	5
8	5
9	5
10	6
11	6
12	6
13	6
14	7
15	7
16	7
17	7
18	7
19	7
20	7
21	7
22	7
23	7
24	7
25	6
26	6
27	6
28	6
29	6
30	6
31	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	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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.

	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)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	calm

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

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 18 min at the start of May to 13 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 36 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:27 AM to 5:06 AM, and sunset from 6:42 PM to 7:03 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)	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9
Sunrise (AM)	5:27	5:26	5:25	5:24	5:23	5:22	5:21	5:20	5:19	5:18	5:18	5:17	5:16	5:15	5:15	5:14	5:13	5:13	5:12	5:11	5:11	5:10	5:10	5:09	5:09	5:08	5:08	5:07	5:07	5:07	5:06
Sunset (PM)	6:42	6:43	6:43	6:44	6:45	6:46	6:46	6:47	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:51	6:51	6:52	6:53	6:54	6:54	6:55	6:56	6:56	6:57	6:58	6:58	6:59	7:00	7:00	7:01	7:02	7:02	7:03

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.3	5:27	6:42
2	13.3	5:26	6:43
3	13.3	5:25	6:43
4	13.3	5:24	6:44
5	13.4	5:23	6:45
6	13.4	5:22	6:46
7	13.4	5:21	6:46
8	13.5	5:20	6:47
9	13.5	5:19	6:48
10	13.5	5:18	6:49
11	13.5	5:18	6:49
12	13.6	5:17	6:50
13	13.6	5:16	6:51
14	13.6	5:15	6:51
15	13.6	5:15	6:52
16	13.7	5:14	6:53
17	13.7	5:13	6:54
18	13.7	5:13	6:54
19	13.7	5:12	6:55
20	13.7	5:11	6:56
21	13.8	5:11	6:56
22	13.8	5:10	6:57
23	13.8	5:10	6:58
24	13.8	5:09	6:58
25	13.8	5:09	6:59
26	13.9	5:08	7:00
27	13.9	5:08	7:00
28	13.9	5:07	7:01
29	13.9	5:07	7:02
30	13.9	5:07	7:02
31	13.9	5:06	7:03

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 8.16 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.37 kWh/m² to a high of 8.25 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 8.16 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)	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.3	8.3
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	8.0	Intense
2	8.0	Intense
3	8.0	Intense
4	8.0	Intense
5	8.0	Intense
6	8.1	Intense
7	8.1	Intense
8	8.1	Intense
9	8.1	Intense
10	8.1	Intense
11	8.1	Intense
12	8.1	Intense
13	8.1	Intense
14	8.1	Intense
15	8.1	Intense
16	8.1	Intense
17	8.2	Intense
18	8.2	Intense
19	8.2	Intense
20	8.2	Intense
21	8.2	Intense
22	8.2	Intense
23	8.2	Intense
24	8.2	Intense
25	8.3	Intense
26	8.3	Intense
27	8.3	Intense
28	8.3	Intense
29	8.3	Intense
30	8.3	Intense
31	8.3	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Las Cruces?

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

6.4

Sightseeing

6th-best month of the year

8.5

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Las Cruces for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Las Cruces in May

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

In May, Las Cruces sees daytime highs around 86°F and nights near 59°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Las Cruces in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Las Cruces peaks around July 14 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 4 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	4	6	7	10	10	12	12	12	10	7	5	4
Level	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	6	High
Mar	7	Very high
Apr	10	Very high
May	10	Very high
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	7	High
Nov	5	High
Dec	4	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Las Cruces?

Las Cruces sits at 32.3°N, 106.8°W, 3,907 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Sunland Park, 37 mi away.

Topography around Las Cruces

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Las Cruces has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 ft around an average of 3,937 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,906 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,948 ft.

The land around Las Cruces is covered by artificial surfaces (75%) within 2 miles, shrubs (53%) within 10 miles, and shrubs (49%) and bare terrain (30%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

292 ft

artificial surfaces 75%

10 miles

1,906 ft

shrubs 53%

50 miles

4,948 ft

shrubs 49%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

May weather nearby: Sunland Park 37 mi · El Paso 42 mi · Ciudad Juárez 45 mi · Socorro 53 mi · Horizon City 54 mi · Socorro Mission Number 1 Colonia 55 mi · Alamogordo 63 mi · Nuevo Casas Grandes 147 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 Las Cruces (32.3123°, -106.7783°, elevation 3,907 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).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	82	54
2	82	55
3	82	55
4	83	55
5	83	56
6	83	56
7	83	56
8	84	56
9	84	57
10	84	57
11	85	57
12	85	58
13	85	58
14	85	58
15	86	58
16	86	59
17	86	59
18	87	59
19	87	60
20	87	60
21	88	60
22	88	61
23	88	61
24	89	61
25	89	62
26	89	62
27	90	62
28	90	62
29	91	63
30	91	63
31	91	64

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	84	16
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	84	16
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	83	17
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	82	18
12	82	18
13	82	18
14	82	18
15	82	18
16	82	18
17	82	18
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	84	16
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	85	15
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	82	54
2	82	55
3	82	55
4	83	55
5	83	56
6	83	56
7	83	56
8	84	56
9	84	57
10	84	57
11	85	57
12	85	58
13	85	58
14	85	58
15	86	58
16	86	59
17	86	59
18	87	59
19	87	60
20	87	60
21	88	60
22	88	61
23	88	61
24	89	61
25	89	62
26	89	62
27	90	62
28	90	62
29	91	63
30	91	63
31	91	64

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	84	16
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	84	16
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	83	17
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	82	18
12	82	18
13	82	18
14	82	18
15	82	18
16	82	18
17	82	18
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	84	16
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	85	15
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	82	54
2	82	55
3	82	55
4	83	55
5	83	56
6	83	56
7	83	56
8	84	56
9	84	57
10	84	57
11	85	57
12	85	58
13	85	58
14	85	58
15	86	58
16	86	59
17	86	59
18	87	59
19	87	60
20	87	60
21	88	60
22	88	61
23	88	61
24	89	61
25	89	62
26	89	62
27	90	62
28	90	62
29	91	63
30	91	63
31	91	64

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	84	16
2	84	16
3	84	16
4	84	16
5	83	17
6	83	17
7	83	17
8	83	17
9	83	17
10	83	17
11	82	18
12	82	18
13	82	18
14	82	18
15	82	18
16	82	18
17	82	18
18	83	17
19	83	17
20	83	17
21	84	16
22	85	15
23	85	15
24	85	15
25	87	13
26	87	13
27	88	12
28	88	12
29	88	12
30	88	12
31	88	12

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1