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Climate · Wellington

Wellington in May

Mild and damp, as the days shorten.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

May in Wellington is mild: highs near 61°F, lows near 53°F. Rain falls on about two days a week, and the days shorten by 52 minutes from the first week to the last.May in Wellington is mild: highs near 16°C, lows near 12°C. Rain falls on about two days a week, and the days shorten by 52 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
61°F16°Caverage
Low
53°F12°Caverage
Wet days
2a week · 35% of days
Daylight
9h 50mon average

Is May a good time to visit Wellington?

May sits outside Wellington's best months, which run from January to March. Expect mild days and rain on about two days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How May sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 61°F in May, against 56°F to 69°F through the year.Highs near 16°C in May, against 13°C to 21°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

35% of days in May, against 24% to 44% through the year.

Cloud cover

51% cover in May, against 43% to 56% through the year.

Daylight

9h 50m in May, against 9h 15m to 15h 06m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with May shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. April64°18°low 55°low 13°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  2. May61°16°low 53°low 12°2 wet days a weekRain on about two days a week.
  3. June58°14°low 50°low 10°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Wellington sits, in May

Pacific/Auckland
this place
typical high in May 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-May
7:21 AMsets 5:13 PM
Above the sea
0 mlow-lying
Latitude
41.3°Ssouthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Te Awanga262 km north-east

The land around Wellington, shaded by its typical high in May, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in New Zealand in May

high · low · wet days
See May on the planning mapThe whole year in Wellington

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), read 7 km west of Wellington. Its own grid square is mostly sea and holds only a daily average, so the page reads the nearest square with a true high and low near the town's height. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (0 m) against the climate model's (55 m).Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (0 m) against the climate model's (55 m). Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.