Sunnyside weather in May

In May, Sunnyside sees average daytime highs of 75°F and overnight lows near 51°F, with 0.7 in of rain across 4.2 wet days and about 14.7 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 71°F in the first days to 78°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Sunnyside's 6th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sunnyside's year-round climate.

Daytime high
75°
5th warmest
Overnight low
51°
8th coldest
Rainfall
0.7 in
4.2 wet days
Daylight
14 h 48 min
4:33 AM – 7:19 PM
Cloud cover
56%
6th clearest
Wind
6 mph
2nd windiest
Solar energy
6.82 kWh/m²
Travel score
7.7
out of 10

Sunnyside is city in Yakima County, Washington, United States.

Density
950/km²
people per km²
Founded
1902

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 78°F by the end.

A typical May day in Sunnyside reaches about 75°F in the afternoon and slips back to 51°F overnight — a 24°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 7°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
17046
27147
37147
47147
57247
67248
77248
87348
97349
107349
117449
127450
137450
147450
157551
167551
177551
187651
197652
207652
217652
227753
237753
247753
257753
267853
277854
287854
297854
307854
317954

How May really feels in Sunnyside

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.

Sunnyside weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan40° / 28°1.59.23.58.80.1
Feb47° / 31°1.16.31.9101.5
Mar55° / 36°1.06.60.611.63.9
Apr65° / 43°0.74.60.113.36.5
May75° / 51°0.74.2014.77.7
Jun82° / 57°0.43015.57.2
Jul91° / 63°0.21.3015.24.6
Aug90° / 61°0.21.10145.1
Sep80° / 53°0.31.9012.38.0
Oct64° / 43°1.05.10.110.76.4
Nov48° / 34°1.37.819.22.0
Dec39° / 28°1.793.58.50.0

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 50%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15446
25446
35446
45446
55446
65248
75248
85149
95050
105050
114852
124852
134753
144654
154654
164555
174654
184654
194654
204654
214852
224852
235050
245050
255248
265248
275347
285545
295545
305644
315644

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Sunnyside gets around 0.7 in of rain over 4.2 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 14% and peaks near 16% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
112
212
312
412
512
612
713
813
913
1014
1114
1215
1315
1416
1516
1616
1716
1816
1916
2016
2116
2215
2315
2414
2514
2613
2713
2813
2913
3013
3113

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.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

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
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 06 min at the start of May to 15 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 4:54 AM to 4:19 AM, and sunset from 7:00 PM to 7:36 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.14:547:00
214.14:537:01
314.24:517:03
414.24:507:04
514.34:487:05
614.34:477:07
714.44:457:08
814.44:447:09
914.54:427:11
1014.54:417:12
1114.64:407:13
1214.64:387:14
1314.64:377:16
1414.74:367:17
1514.74:347:18
1614.84:337:19
1714.84:327:21
1814.94:317:22
1914.94:307:23
2014.94:297:24
2115.04:287:25
2215.04:267:27
2315.04:257:28
2415.14:257:29
2515.14:247:30
2615.14:237:31
2715.24:227:32
2815.24:217:33
2915.24:207:34
3015.34:207:35
3115.34:197:36

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.82 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.3 kWh/m² to a high of 7.84 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 6.82 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

02468151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.5Intense
26.5Intense
36.5Intense
46.6Intense
56.6Intense
66.6Intense
76.7Intense
86.7Intense
96.7Intense
106.7Intense
116.7Intense
126.7Intense
136.8Intense
146.8Intense
156.8Intense
166.8Intense
176.8Intense
186.8Intense
196.9Intense
206.9Intense
216.9Intense
226.9Intense
237.0Intense
247.0Intense
257.0Intense
267.0Intense
277.1Intense
287.1Intense
297.1Intense
307.2Intense
317.2Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Sunnyside?

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

7.7
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
6.3
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Sunnyside in May

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

In May, Sunnyside sees daytime highs around 75°F and nights near 51°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 4 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothes

UV index in Sunnyside 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 Sunnyside peaks around July 16 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 14 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 8Dec 14UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul9Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct4Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Sunnyside 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 Sunnyside is worst in August — around 30 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.0× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 2029 µg/m³Dec 178 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb10Good
Mar12Good
Apr10Good
May9Good
Jun10Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug30Moderate
Sep23Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Sunnyside?

Sunnyside sits at 46.3°N, 120.0°W, 745 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Yakima, 30 mi away.

Topography around Sunnyside

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Sunnyside has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 289 ft around an average of 764 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,152 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,568 ft.

The land around Sunnyside is covered by cropland (34%), grassland (29%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, grassland (46%) and cropland (38%) within 10 miles, and grassland (62%) and cropland (24%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
289 ft
10 miles
2,152 ft
50 miles
5,568 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Yakima 30 mi · Richland 35 mi · Tri-Cities 39 mi · Kennewick 42 mi · Pasco 43 mi · Hermiston 48 mi · Ellensburg 53 mi · Moses Lake 66 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 Sunnyside (46.3237°, -120.0087°, elevation 745 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).