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Climate · New York

New York in May

Warm and damp, as the days lengthen.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

May in New York is warm: highs near 72°F, lows near 52°F. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 52 minutes from the first week to the last.May in New York is warm: highs near 22°C, lows near 11°C. Rain falls on about three days a week, and the days lengthen by 52 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
72°F22°Caverage
Low
52°F11°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 38% of days
Daylight
14h 26mon average

Is May a good time to visit New York?

Yes. May is one of New York's best months (May, or September to October).

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 72°F in May, against 43°F to 87°F through the year.Highs near 22°C in May, against 6°C to 31°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

38% of days in May, against 27% to 41% through the year.

Cloud cover

54% cover in May, against 40% to 56% through the year.

Daylight

14h 26m in May, against 9h 18m to 15h 02m 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. April63°17°low 42°low 6°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. May72°22°low 52°low 11°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. June82°28°low 62°low 17°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where New York sits, in May

America/New York
this place
typical high in May 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-May
5:40 AMsets 8:05 PM
Above the sea
10 mlow-lying
Latitude
40.7°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Gardiner108 km north

The land around New York, 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 United States in May

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

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest New York. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. 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.