Palmdale weather in May

In May, Palmdale sees average daytime highs of 73°F and overnight lows near 52°F, with 0.5 in of precipitation across 3.2 wet days and about 13.8 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 71°F in the first days to 76°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 67% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 24 min at the start of May to 14 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Palmdale's 6th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Palmdale's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 73°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 52°; 7th coldest
Precipitation: 0.5 in; 3.2 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 48 min; 4:55 AM – 6:43 PM
Cloud cover: 30%; 6th clearest
Wind: 6 mph; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 7.85 kWh/m²
Travel score: 8.5; out of 10

Palmdale is city in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

Density: 576/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1886

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

← April Palmdale 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 71°F in the first days to 76°F by the end.

A typical May day in Palmdale reaches about 73°F in the afternoon and slips back to 52°F overnight — a 22°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 60°F and 84°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 8°F warmer than April and about 9°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)	71	71	71	71	71	71	72	72	72	72	72	73	73	73	73	73	73	73	74	74	74	74	74	75	75	75	76	76	76	77	77
Avg low (°F)	49	49	50	50	50	50	50	50	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	52	52	52	52	52	52	53	53	53	53	53	54	54	54	55

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	71	49
2	71	49
3	71	50
4	71	50
5	71	50
6	71	50
7	72	50
8	72	50
9	72	51
10	72	51
11	72	51
12	73	51
13	73	51
14	73	51
15	73	51
16	73	51
17	73	52
18	73	52
19	74	52
20	74	52
21	74	52
22	74	52
23	74	53
24	75	53
25	75	53
26	75	53
27	76	53
28	76	54
29	76	54
30	77	54
31	77	55

Palmdale weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	54° / 40°	2.5	5.7	1.6	9.9	3.9
Feb	56° / 40°	2.9	6.6	2.2	10.7	4.1
Mar	60° / 42°	2.0	6.3	1.3	11.7	5.5
Apr	66° / 46°	0.9	4	0.6	12.8	7.3
May	73° / 52°	0.5	3.2	0.1	13.8	8.5
Jun	82° / 59°	0.2	1.1	0	14.3	8.1
Jul	88° / 65°	0.7	3.6	0	14.1	5.8
Aug	88° / 65°	0.5	2.8	0	13.3	5.7
Sep	83° / 61°	0.4	2.5	0	12.2	7.7
Oct	73° / 53°	0.7	2.7	0	11.1	8.6
Nov	62° / 45°	0.7	3	0.4	10.2	6.5
Dec	54° / 39°	1.9	5	1.1	9.7	3.8

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 67% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 21%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	75	75	75	75	75	76	76	76	75	75	76	76	77	78	78	78	80	80	80	81	81	81	82	82	84	84	85	85	86	86	86
Cloudier (%)	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	25	25	24	24	23	22	22	22	20	20	20	19	19	19	18	18	16	16	15	15	14	14	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	75	25
2	75	25
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	76	24
7	76	24
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	77	23
14	78	22
15	78	22
16	78	22
17	80	20
18	80	20
19	80	20
20	81	19
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	84	16
26	84	16
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Palmdale gets around 0.5 in of rain and snow over 3.2 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 10% and peaks near 12% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	11	11	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	10	10	9	9	8	7	7	6	6

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

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 6 mph in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 6 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)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
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	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	6	calm
20	6	calm
21	6	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 24 min at the start of May to 14 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 42 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:09 AM to 4:46 AM, and sunset from 6:31 PM to 6:54 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)	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:09	5:08	5:06	5:05	5:04	5:03	5:02	5:01	5:01	5:00	4:59	4:58	4:57	4:56	4:55	4:55	4:54	4:53	4:53	4:52	4:51	4:51	4:50	4:49	4:49	4:48	4:48	4:47	4:47	4:47	4:46
Sunset (PM)	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:34	6:35	6:36	6:36	6:37	6:38	6:39	6:40	6:40	6:41	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:44	6:45	6:46	6:47	6:47	6:48	6:49	6:49	6:50	6:51	6:52	6:52	6:53	6:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.4	5:09	6:31
2	13.4	5:08	6:32
3	13.4	5:06	6:32
4	13.5	5:05	6:33
5	13.5	5:04	6:34
6	13.5	5:03	6:35
7	13.6	5:02	6:36
8	13.6	5:01	6:36
9	13.6	5:01	6:37
10	13.6	5:00	6:38
11	13.7	4:59	6:39
12	13.7	4:58	6:40
13	13.7	4:57	6:40
14	13.7	4:56	6:41
15	13.8	4:55	6:42
16	13.8	4:55	6:43
17	13.8	4:54	6:44
18	13.9	4:53	6:44
19	13.9	4:53	6:45
20	13.9	4:52	6:46
21	13.9	4:51	6:47
22	13.9	4:51	6:47
23	14.0	4:50	6:48
24	14.0	4:49	6:49
25	14.0	4:49	6:49
26	14.0	4:48	6:50
27	14.1	4:48	6:51
28	14.1	4:47	6:52
29	14.1	4:47	6:52
30	14.1	4:47	6:53
31	14.1	4:46	6:54

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 7.85 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.02 kWh/m² to a high of 8.4 kWh/m² in June across the year — May's 7.85 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)	7.5	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.1	8.2
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	7.5	Intense
2	7.6	Intense
3	7.6	Intense
4	7.6	Intense
5	7.6	Intense
6	7.7	Intense
7	7.7	Intense
8	7.7	Intense
9	7.7	Intense
10	7.7	Intense
11	7.8	Intense
12	7.8	Intense
13	7.8	Intense
14	7.8	Intense
15	7.8	Intense
16	7.8	Intense
17	7.9	Intense
18	7.9	Intense
19	7.9	Intense
20	7.9	Intense
21	7.9	Intense
22	8.0	Intense
23	8.0	Intense
24	8.0	Intense
25	8.0	Intense
26	8.0	Intense
27	8.1	Intense
28	8.1	Intense
29	8.1	Intense
30	8.1	Intense
31	8.2	Intense

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Palmdale?

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

8.5

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

6.5

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

May is one of the better times to visit Palmdale for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Palmdale in May

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

In May, Palmdale sees daytime highs around 73°F and nights near 52°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 3 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Palmdale in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 8 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Palmdale peaks around June 23 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	4	5	5	8	8	11	11	11	8	6	3	3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	5	Moderate
Mar	5	High
Apr	8	Very high
May	8	Very high
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	11	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	8	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	3	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Air quality in Palmdale 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 Palmdale is worst in September — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 3.2× the cleanest month (May, 12 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)	14	15	16	14	12	15	18	22	39	15	17	14
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	14	Moderate
Feb	15	Moderate
Mar	16	Moderate
Apr	14	Moderate
May	12	Moderate
Jun	15	Moderate
Jul	18	Moderate
Aug	22	Moderate
Sep	39	Poor
Oct	15	Moderate
Nov	17	Moderate
Dec	14	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Palmdale?

Palmdale sits at 34.6°N, 118.1°W, 2,657 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Vincent, 5.6 mi away.

Topography around Palmdale

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Palmdale has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 594 ft around an average of 2,687 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,979 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 10,000 ft.

The land around Palmdale is covered by artificial surfaces (45%) and grassland (30%) within 2 miles, grassland (46%) within 10 miles, and grassland (33%) and shrubs (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

594 ft

artificial surfaces 45%

10 miles

2,979 ft

grassland 46%

50 miles

10,000 ft

grassland 33%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

May weather nearby: Vincent 5.6 mi · Lancaster 8.1 mi · Rosamond 20 mi · Canyon Country 23 mi · Sunland 24 mi · Tujunga 25 mi · La Crescenta-Montrose 25 mi · La Cañada Flintridge 27 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 Palmdale (34.5794°, -118.1165°, elevation 2,657 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	71	49
2	71	49
3	71	50
4	71	50
5	71	50
6	71	50
7	72	50
8	72	50
9	72	51
10	72	51
11	72	51
12	73	51
13	73	51
14	73	51
15	73	51
16	73	51
17	73	52
18	73	52
19	74	52
20	74	52
21	74	52
22	74	52
23	74	53
24	75	53
25	75	53
26	75	53
27	76	53
28	76	54
29	76	54
30	77	54
31	77	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	75	25
2	75	25
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	76	24
7	76	24
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	77	23
14	78	22
15	78	22
16	78	22
17	80	20
18	80	20
19	80	20
20	81	19
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	84	16
26	84	16
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

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

	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	71	49
2	71	49
3	71	50
4	71	50
5	71	50
6	71	50
7	72	50
8	72	50
9	72	51
10	72	51
11	72	51
12	73	51
13	73	51
14	73	51
15	73	51
16	73	51
17	73	52
18	73	52
19	74	52
20	74	52
21	74	52
22	74	52
23	74	53
24	75	53
25	75	53
26	75	53
27	76	53
28	76	54
29	76	54
30	77	54
31	77	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	75	25
2	75	25
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	76	24
7	76	24
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	77	23
14	78	22
15	78	22
16	78	22
17	80	20
18	80	20
19	80	20
20	81	19
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	84	16
26	84	16
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

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

	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	71	49
2	71	49
3	71	50
4	71	50
5	71	50
6	71	50
7	72	50
8	72	50
9	72	51
10	72	51
11	72	51
12	73	51
13	73	51
14	73	51
15	73	51
16	73	51
17	73	52
18	73	52
19	74	52
20	74	52
21	74	52
22	74	52
23	74	53
24	75	53
25	75	53
26	75	53
27	76	53
28	76	54
29	76	54
30	77	54
31	77	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	75	25
2	75	25
3	75	25
4	75	25
5	75	25
6	76	24
7	76	24
8	76	24
9	75	25
10	75	25
11	76	24
12	76	24
13	77	23
14	78	22
15	78	22
16	78	22
17	80	20
18	80	20
19	80	20
20	81	19
21	81	19
22	81	19
23	82	18
24	82	18
25	84	16
26	84	16
27	85	15
28	85	15
29	86	14
30	86	14
31	86	14

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

	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