Rochester weather in May

In May, Rochester sees average daytime highs of 67°F and overnight lows near 49°F, with 4.5 in of precipitation across 13 wet days and about 14.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 62°F in the first days to 71°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Rochester's 6th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rochester's year-round climate.

Daytime high
67°
5th warmest
Overnight low
49°
8th coldest
Precipitation
4.5 in
13 wet days
Daylight
14 h 30 min
4:50 AM – 7:23 PM
Cloud cover
64%
6th clearest
Wind
9 mph
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.62 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.7
out of 10

Rochester is seat of Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States of America.

Density
792/km²
people per km²
Founded
1854

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 71°F by the end.

A typical May day in Rochester reaches about 67°F in the afternoon and slips back to 49°F overnight — a 18°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 54°F and 79°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 12°F warmer than April and about 10°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16143
26243
36244
46244
56344
66345
76445
86446
96446
106546
116547
126547
136647
146648
156648
166748
176749
186749
196850
206850
216950
226951
236951
247051
257052
267052
277153
287153
297153
307254
317254

How May really feels in Rochester

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.

Rochester weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 1.16.76.69.10.0
Feb28° / 13°1.25.75.310.20.0
Mar41° / 24°2.38.84.411.60.5
Apr55° / 37°3.611.42.313.23.3
May67° / 49°4.5130.114.55.7
Jun76° / 59°5.212.3015.26.4
Jul80° / 63°3.810.40156.6
Aug78° / 60°3.810013.86.9
Sep71° / 52°3.39.3012.36.7
Oct57° / 39°2.790.710.84.1
Nov41° / 27°1.96.93.59.40.6
Dec28° / 15°1.57.16.28.80.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% 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 60%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14060
24060
34060
43862
53763
63763
73763
83862
93862
103862
113862
123862
133961
144060
153961
163961
173961
183961
194060
204060
214159
224159
234060
244060
254159
264159
274060
284060
294159
304159
314159

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitationSnow

Rochester gets around 4.5 in of rain and snow over 13 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 41% 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 (%)
1402
2402
3412
4412
5411
6421
7421
8411
9411
10410
11400
12400
13390
14390
15390
16390
17390
18390
19400
20400
21410
22410
23420
24430
25430
26440
27440
28440
29440
30440
31440

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 83% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
195410
295410
394510
494510
593610
691720
791720
891720
990820
1089830
1188930
1288930
1387940
1486941
15851041
16841051
17841051
18821062
19821062
20801172
21781183
22781183
23761293
24751294
25741394
267313104
277114105
287015105
296916105
306816115
316617116

Wind in May

Winds average 9 mph in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 8 mph on the calmest days to 9 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
19light breeze
29light breeze
39light breeze
49light breeze
59light breeze
69light breeze
79light breeze
89light breeze
99light breeze
109light breeze
119light breeze
129light breeze
139light breeze
149light breeze
159light breeze
169light breeze
179light breeze
189light breeze
199light breeze
209light breeze
219light breeze
229light breeze
239light breeze
249light breeze
258light breeze
268light breeze
278light breeze
288light breeze
298light breeze
308light breeze
318light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 54 min at the start of May to 15 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:09 AM to 4:37 AM, and sunset from 7:05 PM to 7:38 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.95:097:05
214.05:087:06
314.05:067:07
414.15:057:09
514.15:037:10
614.15:027:11
714.25:017:12
814.24:597:13
914.34:587:15
1014.34:577:16
1114.44:557:17
1214.44:547:18
1314.44:537:19
1414.54:527:20
1514.54:517:21
1614.54:507:23
1714.64:497:24
1814.64:487:25
1914.74:467:26
2014.74:457:27
2114.74:457:28
2214.84:447:29
2314.84:437:30
2414.84:427:31
2514.94:417:32
2614.94:407:33
2714.94:397:34
2814.94:397:35
2915.04:387:36
3015.04:377:37
3115.04:377:38

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.62 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.51 kWh/m² to a high of 6.31 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 5.62 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.3Bright
25.3Bright
35.3Bright
45.3Bright
55.4Bright
65.4Bright
75.4Bright
85.4Bright
95.4Bright
105.5Bright
115.5Bright
125.5Bright
135.5Bright
145.6Bright
155.6Bright
165.6Bright
175.7Bright
185.7Bright
195.7Bright
205.7Bright
215.7Bright
225.8Bright
235.8Bright
245.8Bright
255.8Bright
265.8Bright
275.8Bright
285.9Bright
295.9Bright
305.9Bright
315.9Bright
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Rochester?

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

5.7
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
2.6
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Rochester for sightseeing.

What to pack for Rochester in May

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

In May, Rochester sees daytime highs around 67°F and nights near 49°F. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Rochester 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 Rochester peaks around June 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 14UV 9Jan 12UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul7Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Rochester?

Rochester sits at 44.0°N, 92.5°W, 1,024 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Austin, 35 mi away.

Topography around Rochester

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Rochester has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 305 ft around an average of 1,047 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 436 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 797 ft.

The land around Rochester is covered by trees (43%) and artificial surfaces (38%) within 2 miles, cropland (46%) and trees (28%) within 10 miles, and cropland (66%) and trees (25%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
305 ft
10 miles
436 ft
50 miles
797 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
May weather nearby: Austin 35 mi · Red Wing 37 mi · Owatonna 38 mi · Winona 41 mi · Faribault 44 mi · Northfield 45 mi · Albert Lea 52 mi · Hastings 53 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 Rochester (44.0216°, -92.4699°, elevation 1,024 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).