Wichita weather in May

In May, Wichita sees average daytime highs of 76°F and overnight lows near 56°F, with 5.6 in of rain across 11.8 wet days and about 14 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 71°F in the first days to 80°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 30 min at the start of May to 14 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Wichita's 12th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wichita's year-round climate.

Daytime high
76°
5th warmest
Overnight low
56°
8th coldest
Rainfall
5.6 in
11.8 wet days
Daylight
14 hours
5:25 AM – 7:26 PM
Cloud cover
55%
12th clearest
Wind
10 mph
3rd windiest
Solar energy
6.02 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.6
out of 10

Wichita is city in and county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States.

Density
928/km²
people per km²
Founded
1868

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 80°F by the end.

A typical May day in Wichita reaches about 76°F in the afternoon and slips back to 56°F overnight — a 19°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 64°F and 87°F. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 9°F warmer than April and about 10°F cooler than June.

40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
17151
27151
37151
47252
57252
67353
77353
87354
97454
107454
117455
127555
137556
147556
157656
167657
177657
187757
197758
207758
217858
227859
237859
247860
257960
267960
278060
288061
298061
308062
318162

How May really feels in Wichita

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.

Wichita weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 5th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan43° / 24°1.14.22.29.70.6
Feb48° / 28°1.45.4210.51.9
Mar58° / 37°2.87.71.111.74.6
Apr67° / 46°3.79.70.312.96.3
May76° / 56°5.611.80146.6
Jun85° / 66°4.510.7014.65.2
Jul90° / 71°3.49014.34.1
Aug89° / 69°3.48013.54.6
Sep81° / 60°3.27012.36.9
Oct69° / 48°3.07.30.1117.2
Nov56° / 36°1.75.10.6104.4
Dec45° / 27°1.54.82.19.41.1

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in May, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 49%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14951
25050
35050
45149
55248
65248
75347
85347
95446
105446
115446
125446
135446
145347
155347
165248
175149
185050
195050
205050
214951
224951
234951
244951
254951
264951
275050
285050
295149
305248
315248

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Wichita gets around 5.6 in of rain over 11.8 wet days in May, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 38% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
138
238
338
438
538
638
738
838
938
1037
1137
1237
1337
1437
1537
1637
1737
1838
1938
2038
2138
2238
2338
2439
2539
2639
2739
2840
2940
3040
3139

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 47% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 10% of them.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
174141020
272151120
369161230
468161330
566171430
663181540
762181640
859191750
958191850
1056191960
1155201960
1254202060
1352202170
1451202180
1549202280
1648202390
17462024100
18442025110
19422026120
20412027120
21392028130
22372029140
23352030150
24332031150
25322032160
26302032170
27292033180
28272033191
29262033201
30242033211
31232033231

Wind in May

Winds average 10 mph in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 9 mph on the calmest days to 10 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
110light breeze
210light breeze
310light breeze
410light breeze
510light breeze
610light breeze
710light breeze
810light breeze
910light breeze
1010light breeze
1110light breeze
1210light breeze
1310light breeze
1410light breeze
1510light breeze
1610light breeze
1710light breeze
1810light breeze
1910light breeze
2010light breeze
2110light breeze
2210light breeze
2310light breeze
249light breeze
259light breeze
269light breeze
279light breeze
289light breeze
299light breeze
309light breeze
319light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 30 min at the start of May to 14 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 54 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:40 AM to 5:15 AM, and sunset from 7:13 PM to 7:38 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.55:407:13
213.65:397:14
313.65:387:15
413.65:377:15
513.75:367:16
613.75:357:17
713.75:347:18
813.85:337:19
913.85:317:20
1013.85:307:21
1113.95:297:22
1213.95:287:23
1313.95:287:24
1414.05:277:25
1514.05:267:25
1614.05:257:26
1714.15:247:27
1814.15:237:28
1914.15:227:29
2014.15:227:30
2114.25:217:31
2214.25:207:31
2314.25:207:32
2414.25:197:33
2514.35:187:34
2614.35:187:35
2714.35:177:35
2814.35:177:36
2914.35:167:37
3014.45:167:38
3114.45:157:38

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 6.02 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.32 kWh/m² to a high of 6.86 kWh/m² in July across the year — May's 6.02 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.7Bright
25.7Bright
35.7Bright
45.7Bright
55.8Bright
65.8Bright
75.8Bright
85.9Bright
95.9Bright
105.9Bright
116.0Bright
126.0Bright
136.0Intense
146.0Intense
156.0Intense
166.1Intense
176.1Intense
186.1Intense
196.1Intense
206.1Intense
216.1Intense
226.1Intense
236.2Intense
246.2Intense
256.2Intense
266.2Intense
276.2Intense
286.3Intense
296.3Intense
306.3Intense
316.4Intense
Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Wichita?

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

6.6
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
5.6
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

May is a reasonable time to visit Wichita for sightseeing.

What to pack for Wichita in May

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

In May, Wichita sees daytime highs around 76°F and nights near 56°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothesrain gear

UV index in Wichita 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 Wichita peaks around June 22 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highHighModerateJun 22UV 10Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Wichita?

Wichita sits at 37.7°N, 97.3°W, 1,299 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Derby, 11 mi away.

Topography around Wichita

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Wichita has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 79 ft around an average of 1,306 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 226 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 715 ft.

The land around Wichita is covered by artificial surfaces (54%) and trees (32%) within 2 miles, grassland (31%), trees (25%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 10 miles, and cropland (48%) and grassland (41%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
79 ft
10 miles
226 ft
50 miles
715 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
May weather nearby: Derby 11 mi · Newton 24 mi · Hutchinson 41 mi · Ponca City 70 mi · Emporia 80 mi · Salina 81 mi · Great Bend 91 mi · Enid 94 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 Wichita (37.6922°, -97.3375°, elevation 1,299 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).